Opel, the European division of General Motors (GM), will stop production of the Astra model in Germany, but in 2015 will produce a new version at a factory in England, near Liverpool, and in Poland, writes Bloomberg. The Ellesmere Port plant, operated by British brand Vauxhall owned by Opel, will be the main production center of the new Astra, which will be introduced in 2015, after the factory workers have accepted proposals to improve productivity, reads a release from General Motors. General Motors has 40,000 employees in 11 factories in Europe, of which 2,100 work at its plant in Britain.
The American group will invest 300 million euros in the production of the new Astra in the UK, and at another plant owned by GM in Poland, at Gliwice, but will stop the model assembly at the German plant in Ruesselsheim. Opel will continue to use this plant near Frankfurt, which produces the Insignia, at full capacity, the company said, without further details. This may raise questions about the survival of another German factory, in Bochum, which, along with Ellesmere Port, was considered a candidate for closure.
The next Astra generation will create 700 jobs at Ellesmere Port, after employees have signed new contracts, which will start next year and will be in place to the early 2020s, according to Opel, which will guarantee a minimum yearly production of 160,000 cars. Employees have agreed to work in three shifts instead of two as it is now, and the factory will be profitable if it works at full capacity, the company announced.
General Motors put pressure on employees at each Opel factory to accept concessions, after European operations posted an operating loss of $256 million in the first quarter, compared with a profit of 5 million euros a year ago.
Reply