Opel has moved swiftly at its militant plant of Bochum in Germany, announcing the Zafira Tourer will be manufactured at Russelsheim from 2015.
The largest union at Bochum – IG Metall – recently rejected proposals by Opel for a pay freeze in exchange for continued Zafira production at Bochum until 2016 – with management retaliating quickly by shifting production elsewhere in Germany in 2015.
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Opel’s move now means Russelsheim will be the only plant for the Insignia in all its variants and the Zafira, with the future of Bochum’s 3,000 staff unclear although the automaker says it will look at ways to generate new employment in the region.
“After the rejection of the restructuring tariff agreement by the employees of Bochum, the Zafira Tourer will be manufactured exclusively in Bochum until the end of 2014,” said an Opel statement.
“After the run-out of the Bochum vehicle production Opel will invest in ‘Bochum Perspective 2022.’
It is the goal of this initiative to bring new jobs and technologies to Bochum and to the region of North-Rhine Westphalia.
Parent company, General Motors had linked any deal to expanding a logistics centre at Bochum and replacing auto production with parts manufacture after 2016, that would have kept 1,200 of the 3,000 jobs.
