Friday’s agreement between local management and unions to implement planned restructuring measures at the Corsa/Combo/Meriva plant in Zaragoza was “significant progress” in the implementation of the Opel/Vauxhall viability plan, the automaker said in a statement.
The agreement, which still needs to be ratified by the plant’s 7,000 unionised members, calls for a socially responsible reduction of 900 jobs in Spain.
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Also on Friday, the UK government announced a EUR300m loan guarantee to help secure Opel/Vauxhall’s operations in Britain and the rest of Europe.
“The company has been in discussion with the British government for many months and this very positive conclusion is an important step towards implementing Opel/Vauxhall’s pan-European viability plan,” the GM Europe unit said in the statement.
“Discussions with governments in other European countries continue, and the company is hopeful to make similar progress.”
Opel/Vauxhall CEO Nick Reilly said: “This shows significant progress in our efforts to secure loan guarantees from European governments and to get support from our employee representatives.
“We very much appreciate the support of Lord Mandelson and the British government which is a vote of
confidence in our company. I’m also grateful for the Spanish government’s role in moderating the discussions between management and unions resulting in the important agreement reached [on Friday].”
