Opel cuts thousands of jobs across Germany
Thousands of German workers at Opel cars will lose their jobs in another round of cuts announced this week by the car maker's owner General Motors. As many as 2,300 people have already been let go.
"The reduction will be accomplished through voluntary separations, early retirements and natural attrition," General Motors Europe said in a statement, referring to 2,600 job cuts, most of which will affect German workers.
The company lost half a billion dollars in Europe alone in the third quarter, when it produced just 196,000 cars - down from 270,000 in the same quarter last year.
GM is expecting Opel to make losses until at least the middle of the decade, its target for "break-even" results.
But the company also re-affirmed its plan to close its plant in Bochum, western Germany in 2016, once the Zafira van ends production.
The company is also drastically reducing its inventory to cut costs. This effort includes a 100,000-unit reduction in the number of cars in its inventory since February, with an additional 20,000 reduction planned by the end of the year.
Despite the depressing figures, GM vice chairman Steve Girsky remained upbeat. "We have an aggressive, multi-billion dollar product plan that will deliver 23 new models and 13 new engines though 2016," he said in the statement.
"Many of Opel/Vauxhall’s near-term launches are in entirely new segments, including the Mokka and ADAM this year, and the Cascada next year."
The Local/DAPD/bk
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"The reduction will be accomplished through voluntary separations, early retirements and natural attrition," General Motors Europe said in a statement, referring to 2,600 job cuts, most of which will affect German workers.
The company lost half a billion dollars in Europe alone in the third quarter, when it produced just 196,000 cars - down from 270,000 in the same quarter last year.
GM is expecting Opel to make losses until at least the middle of the decade, its target for "break-even" results.
But the company also re-affirmed its plan to close its plant in Bochum, western Germany in 2016, once the Zafira van ends production.
The company is also drastically reducing its inventory to cut costs. This effort includes a 100,000-unit reduction in the number of cars in its inventory since February, with an additional 20,000 reduction planned by the end of the year.
Despite the depressing figures, GM vice chairman Steve Girsky remained upbeat. "We have an aggressive, multi-billion dollar product plan that will deliver 23 new models and 13 new engines though 2016," he said in the statement.
"Many of Opel/Vauxhall’s near-term launches are in entirely new segments, including the Mokka and ADAM this year, and the Cascada next year."
The Local/DAPD/bk
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