Opel and its unions have come to terms on a former labor agreement. Dubbed the “Deutschlandplan,” or Germany-wide plan, the strategy was put together by the Opel Management Board, IG Metall union, and the Opel Works Council.
In short, Opel will keep producing cars at its Bochum, Germany plant through 2016. However, the Kaiserslautern, Russelsheim and Eisenach plants in Germany will continue forward with new products. The closure of Bochum will coincide with the end of the current Zafira Tourer MPV. Afterwards, the program will be turned over to PSA Peugeot Citroen.
Vice Chairman and Opel Supervisory Board Chairman Steve Girsky told WardsAuto that Opel is exploring the possibility of the Bochum plant becoming a components plant, preserving 1,200 of the 3,300 current jobs in the process. In addition, the plant will taper down from a 3- to 2-shift operation in the second quarter. Opel is also offering severance packages and partial retirement programs for the employees affected by the move.
Comment
That is about as good as any Opel worker could imagine.
Kudos to GM for being civil, though I think they should had cleaned house and started over to the east.