Union hopes Opel could change its mind concerning more talks to save its Bochum plant in Germany from closure, appear to be fading as the automaker takes an increasingly hard line on rejection of its productivity plan.
The IG Metall union – Opel’s largest at the site employing 3,000 staff – overwhelmingly voted against plans for a pay freeze in exchange for continued Zafira production at Bochum until 2016 – but seems to be still trying to hold out an olive branch to the manufacturer in a bid to re-start talks.
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“We are interested for more talks about other options,” a union expert in Bochum’s State of North-Rhein Westphalia, told just-auto. “We are interested – we would welcome that.”
IG Metall is realistic enough to know “we can’t build any more cars,” but is pinning its hopes on some component production future for Bochum – although even this chance seems to be increasingly remote as Opel adopts a tough stance with regard to its renegade factory.
“If in our negotiations, the result was we will get other working places [jobs] to build engines and other car parts, other industrial production, a lot of people say we hope that they will get the chance,” said the NRW union commentator.
However, that door appears to be rapidly slamming shut as Opel is confirming its intention to exit Bochum at the end of next year after its union threw out the productivity proposals.
“The general discussion is over – production will phase out by the end of 2014,” a General Motors Europe (GME) spokesman told just-auto from Russelsheim.
“Component production is finished. The overall initiative came from IG Metall on a Germany-wide level and in the other Opel plants it was accepted.
“Bochum had the hardest cuts and we have to be honest with that, but we think IG Metall thinks there was a good solution in terms of the framework.”
That view was given some credence by comments made to just-auto yesterday (19 April) acknowledging internal disagreements at Bochum level, with the NRW plant the only one in Germany to stubbornly resist Opel’s plans.
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.
But that chance now appears doomed with Opel turning the screw on Bochum, although it is attempting to limit the political fall-out by raising the so- called Bochum 2022 initiative that could see the site attract other industries.
“That of course, is something where the overall political crowd is involved,” said the GME spokesman.
