Opel has announced vehicle production at its troubled Bochum plant in Bochum, Germany, will cease on December 31, 2014. The announcement comes after the automaker was able to ratify the outline of a severance deal with workers of the plant, which currently builds the Zafira line of vehicles and Astra Classic. GM-Opel would have kept the plant open as long as 2016, if the union agreed to concessions, based on previous reports.
Workers of the plant will be offered individual severance packages tailored to their specific needs. Opel says attractive compensation, a two year transfer company and special programs for older employees will help create prospects for the workers.
However Opel will not pull out of the City of Bochum completely. The automaker owns a warehouse in the town which they will invest 60 million euros in, creating about 250 jobs and securing 430 into the future.
Comments
This is the New World Order. Get rid of high priced people and either bring in temps or move the jobs overseas.
I am a state government employee and the government is trying to break the union. The thing is that in my state, at least 25% of the workers don’t do anything, yet will be at every union meeting demanding more money and benefits. And though I might be complaining, I think it is a good thing and it will help the company and Bochum to move ahead.
Any other country/continent and this change would have happened years ago. This and the recent Ford announcements are the start of a wave of closures that will sweep Western Europe.
This wave has still arrived! Ford is now closing 3 plants in Europe, PSA at least one, FIAT is closing a plant in Sicily …