Managers at General Motors’ German unit Adam Opel on Monday (10 December) told workers that vehicle production at the Bochum plant would when end the current Zafira model runs out in 2016.
Last June, Opel had announced no successor to the current model was planned to be allocated to Bochum in view of the shrinking European car market and overcapacity in the European auto industry.
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“Despite intensive efforts this situation could not be changed,” GM said in a statement.
The warehouse in Bochum will continue operating beyond 2016 and “could be expanded”. Opel is also negotiating with employee representatives over allocating more component production to Bochum.
Separately, a working group called Bochum Perspective 2022, recently established by Opel, is looking at site development opportunities “to secure existing jobs and create new ones in the city of Bochum and the entire Ruhr region”.
Opel will support the project with finance and staff.
“Building on [that], we have a clear goal for securing a significant number of… jobs at Adam Opel. They include positions in our warehouses and potentially component production. Opel takes its responsibility seriously and will implement still-necessary job reductions in the most socially responsible way. The goal of our negotiations with the works council is to refrain from forced redundancies before the run-out of the current Zafira,” said GM’s vice chairman Steve Girsky, who also chairs the Opel supervisory board and is acting president of GM Europe.
“Germany is our most important market and, with about 20,000 employees, the backbone and home of our brand. And this will stay this way in the future,” Opel Deputy CEO Thomas Sedran added.
Drive Opel 2022 targets break-even results by mid-decade. Opel plans to increase its revenue and variable profit “significantly” by more cost-efficiency, new marketing strategy, improving brand image, boosting market share and entering new markets [such as the recent launch in Australia] and segments. From 2012 to 2016, Opel will launch 23 new models and 13 new engines.
