GM to Shut Russia Plant, Wind Down Opel Brand

General Motors Co said on Wednesday it would idle its car plant in St Petersburg and wind down its Opel brand, reducing its presence on the Russian mass market and resulting in around $600 million in special charges.

The charges will be recorded primarily in the first quarter of 2015, the company said in a statement announcing its decision to close the St Petersburg plant by the middle of 2015 for an unspecified time and wind down the Opel brand in Russia. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Maria Kiselyova, editing by Elizabeth Piper)