GM has said that it will shut its assembly plant in Portugal by October 31 if talks with workers and the government do not lead to lower production costs, according to Reuters.
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Workers at the Azambuja plant, which assembles Combo delivery vans, convinced GM last week to wait five more weeks before making a decision to close the factory.
With the October 31 deadline they will have more time to come up with the cost cuts GM wants.
“If we don’t arrive at a viable solution for GM in Portugal, we will shut down the Azambuja plant by October 31,” said Nelson Silveira, a spokesman for GM Portugal, according to the Reuters report.
“We are still in negotiations with the Portuguese government.”
There are about 1,100 workers at the factory. They have stepped up industrial action in response to the threat of closure and held a 24-hour strike last week.
GM has said that production costs at the factory are 500 euros more per vehicle than at other plants.
Workers at Aazambuja and at other European GM plants have been staging a series of protests at the planned closure.
