Volkswagen’s Landaben factory in the northern Spanish region of Navarre had “a great year” in 2004, but sales of its leading export, the just-facelifted Polo supermini – continue to disappoint, prompting a production slump and threatening jobs at the 4,500-worker plant.

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VW has cut this year’s Polo production 9% to 211,000 units (it also did so last year) as the car “continues to sell very badly” in Spain and Europe, Eugenio Duque, an official with top Spanish union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), told just-auto.


Because of the sales slump (triggered by the “car’s price and a highly competitive market”), the factory will close up to 36 days this year as 19,000 cars from the original 230,000 schedule are axed, Duque said.


“You don’t have to be a genius to know that if this continues they are going to start laying people off,” he noted. “We are worried.”


Duque heads the union’s strike schedule, which calls for a nine-hour strike today (Tuesday) and 12 hours Thursday before another 12-hour stop is pursued next Tuesday. The actions follow “hundreds of strike hours” this month as unions demand a new labour deal “that offers better terms during crisis periods” and a 1.5% raise.

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VW, which rolled out the lightly revised Polo in Spain in May, won’t provide this year’s sales targets. A spokeswoman said the car’s sales fell to 25,297 units last year from 29,800 units in 2003. She would not comment further.


Meanwhile, VW Navarre’s profits soared 45% to €21.4 million, on sales down 2.2% to €2.03 billion, as the company’s “ForMotion” plan slashed costs 20%, making 2004 a record year, newswire Europapress reported, citing official VW documents.


VW reportedly invested €31.3 million in the plant which makes the Polo and several of its components for worldwide export.


Ivan Castano