It is apparently the start of a new drama about Opel: The management of General Motors subsidiary plans to close up to two plants in Europe, this according to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters news agency, who citing insiders. Next Wednesday the Board of Directors will deal with the latest business plan, which suggests the closing of two plants and cut production capacity by 30 percent, said the insiders. Most at risk are the plants in Bochum and Ellesmere Port in Britain.
General Motors (GM) have repeatedly stated that it faces excess capacity of 500,000 vehicles per year, two plants too much. "The new boss has visited the production plants one by one and played them against each other," said one board member from the workers unions. "We know the key points of the new business plan that could be presented on Wednesday. This suggests plant closures, and future growth will not be given for Opel."
The European operations of GM - that's Opel and Vauxhall to a lesser extent in the UK - in 2011 lost almost EUR 750 million. In recent months, rumors have arisen again and again that GM wants to sell Opel, or possibly close the Opel plant in Bochum. Recently the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that the cuts threaten employees in Germany. Also, the end for the Vauxhall factory in Ellesmere Port has been speculated.
By 2014, Opel, however, is protected by an agreement that excludes layoffs and plant closures. This was decided by management and unions in return for a strict savings plan two years ago, 8,000 employees were then removed and the plant in Antwerp Belgium was closed. Previously there had been a months-long tug of war over Opel, when for a long time the sale of GM's subsidiary was the plan.
"Sure, it's also about plants and production"
The factory in Bochum for Opel concerns about 5,000 jobs, the largest industrial employer in the region. At the plant the Astra and Zafira as well as axles and transmissions are produced. In 2007, there were 240,000 cars built there. In Ellesmere Port, different versions of the Astra are built. There Vauxhall reportedly has 2,100 people employed, and the plant has a production capacity of 187,000 cars.
In Germany, Opel has a total of approximately 40,000 employees and besides Bochum and Rüsselsheim still has plants in Eisenach and Kaiserslautern. A representative from the company said that no decision on plant closures in Europe has been made. The scope of the Opel management has become increasingly tighter. "The business in Europe is quite difficult for the entire industry, an improvement is not in sight. If things go this bad, you have to make decisions, it's not so much about what we or the unions want, it's about what the situation force us to do." One should not lose more time.
On Thursday, a spokesman for Opel in Rüsselsheim said that it is certain that we must improve. With the plants in Europe, we will talk about strategies to make Opel profitable. It is "clear that it is also about plants and production." At the factory in Hesse, the bands are currently paused on a daily basis, demand driven. Opel is also under pressure because of the recession in Southern Europe, hardly any new cars are sold.
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