Saab temporarily halted production yesterday (March 29) as Saab confirmed that suppliers had stopped deliveries of parts due to a dispute over payments.
Spyker’s chief executive, Victor Muller, told Reuters that production was halted for two hours on Tuesday because a transport company wanted better payment, but he said that production has now resumed.
Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri had earlier reported that production had been halted after some suppliers stopped deliveries due to unpaid bills.
A statement issued by Spyker today confirmed that halted shipments by suppliers in dispute over payment had caused yesterday’s Saab production stoppage:
“Certain suppliers halted supplies to Saab Automobile pending discussions about payments and supply terms. Saab Automobile expects to resolve these issues in the short term, also to prevent any further disruptions in supply. Saab Automobile has sufficient means to meet its immediate liquidity needs from existing and available sources. In addition, Saab Automobile continues to work on longer term solutions to further strengthen its financial position and improve its capital structure.”
The brief hiatus to production at Saab will raise questions about its business health as the fledgling firm – ‘let go’ by General Motors early last year – attempts an aggressive plan to raise output towards breakeven point.
The past week is proving to be a tough one for Saab.
Earlier this week Saab’s long-serving CEO Jan Ake Jonsson announced plans to retire. And last Friday Saab also also announced a steep loss for last year, according to parent company Spyker Cars. And on Monday, Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller met with officials at Sweden’s National Debt Office to provide assurances over collateral to meet the terms of the credit guarantees the government provided to secure EIB funding.
See also:
NETHERLANDS: Spyker announces big loss for 2010
SWEDEN: Jonsson to step down as Saab chief – new distributors announced
