Opel plant in Kaiserslautern
The three German factories of Opel in Rüsselsheim, Eisenach and Kaiserslautern are to “shut down production in an orderly fashion” on Tuesday, according to an email to the employees.
Munich The carmaker Opel wants to send thousands of employees on short-time work. “We have started to talk about short-time work with the social partners and the employment agency”, says an internal circular that the Opel– dispatched management to the workforce on Monday afternoon and this is available to the Handelsblatt. “The corona crisis is worsening“, The management justifies the step.
Previously Peugeot SA, the French parent company of Opel, announced that it would close all European production sites by March 27 as a health precaution, because of supply difficulties and an ever lower demand. Opel’s three German factories in Rüsselsheim, Eisenach and Kaiserslautern should “shut down production in an orderly fashion” on Tuesday, the employees said in an email.
Regardless of the corona virus, the Opel parent plant in Rüsselsheim has been working short-term since October 2019 due to the weak demand for the Insignia sedan. However, this regulation expires at the end of March. At the latest with the new location Opel should be forced to extend the instrument. But the carmaker also strives to significantly reduce the working hours of employees in the component plant in Kaiserslautern and SUV production in Eisenach.
A company spokesman did not want to comment on the details of the plans. The workforce should be kept up to date.