Saab’s main blue collar union has welcomed today’s (21 September) decision to allow the automaker bankruptcy protection, although is cautioning supplier debt payment may have to be settled by cash only.
The news should now allow the Saab the chance to secure Chinese funding from Youngman and Pang Da, although this might take until November as formal approval for the investment is secured.
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Unionen, Ledarnea and IF Metall had filed for Saab’s bankruptcy, but a hearing scheduled for 26 September to examine the situation is now redundant following the Gothenburg Court of Appeal’s decision to allow voluntary reorganisation.
The ruling now means Saab’s workforce will be paid for overdue August salaries through a State guarantee scheme, as well as for September, but the mechanism will only pay up to one month from today. The State provides for a maximum of SEK171,000 (US$25,600) although each employee will only receive their normal monthly wage.
“When the Court has decided it will be reconstruction, then that day [21 September] you look back and all the claims back three months will be paid,” IF Metall legal advisor Darko Davidovic told just-auto from Sweden.
“Then from today one month forward you can run the company and will be supported by the government for one month. After 21 October or 22 October, the company must pay.”
While such a stark assessment may appear worrying, Saab has its trump card of Chinese distributor Pang Da and manufacturer Youngman waiting in the wings to plough in EUR245m as both look to invest in the Swedish automaker.
However, there is a further twist in the tale as Davidovic made clear when it came to Saab’s patient component suppliers, who are owed considerable amounts of money.
“The thing that usually happens is many of the suppliers who made agreements -Saab by law must pay cash for everything they want to do,” he said.
“They [Saab] have no credit limit [such as] they pay in 60 days for example – it is just cash payment for everything.”
