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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 12, 1993                   TAG: 9303120274
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: DETROIT                                LENGTH: Short

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GM-PURCHASING HEAD TO JOIN VOLKSWAGEN

Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriotua, the charismatic Spaniard who put fear and loathing into the hearts of automobile suppliers, is quitting as purchasing chief of General Motors and is expected to take a top-level post at Volkswagen A.G.

The resignation, widely rumored for several weeks, was announced Thursday by GM Chairman John F. Smith, who had lured Lopez from Europe in 1992 to cut costs in the company's troubled North American operations.

Lopez' efforts have been a major factor in GM's progress toward profitability. He implemented a strategy to help suppliers cut costs and thus lower prices to GM. - Los Angeles Times

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