Bankrupt Saab’s main white collar labour body Unionen, says its members have around one and half months salary left before the State guarantee runs out.
The Swedish government is paying Saab’s near-4,000 workforce up to SEK171,000 (US$221,000) divided by workers’ average monthly salaries, but the pot is now coming close to being exhausted.
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Around 300 Unionen white collar members have already used up the guarantee, while a jobs fair in Saab’s home town of Trollhattan is reporting brisk business as companies from Norway and Northern Sweden look to attract redundant staff.
“In the Western part of Sweden it is not easy to find a new job,” Unionen chief legal adviser Martin Waestfelt told just-auto.
Waestfelt also highlighted the blow of Volvo closing its Uddevalla plant in the same region by 2013. The facility is operated by Pininfarina Sverige, a joint venture between Volvo Car Corporation and Pininfarina.
“This region is an industrial region and it is quite a big problem,” he said.
Today (19 January) also marks the beginning of a visit to China from a Swedish delegation including Scandinavian supplier body FKG, Bosch and what are believed to be union representatives, although labour organisation details are as yet unclear.
The trip has been paid for by Chinese manufacturer Youngman, which was thwarted by General Motors in its attempts to take control of Saab, but which is thought now to be potentially making a new EUR1bn bid using the 9-3 and Lotus models as well as the Swedish automaker’s Phoenix architecture.
