PSA boss Carlos Tavares (62) is known for miraculous financial healings. With Opel, the German subsidiary of the French automaker, he succeeded within a year after the takeover in 2017, what previous owner General Motors had tried in vain for almost 20 years: he wrote a profit.
It is mainly the employees who pay the price. When PSA started, almost 19,000 people were working for Opel in Germany; in 2020 there will be just over 13,000; Opel does not give exact figures. And by the end of 2021, another 2100 should go. Most recently, the management threatened to lay off for operational reasons. “The pressure is diabolical,” says an Opel employee.
The company also justifies the procedure with the Corona crisis and poor sales on the European automotive market. In fact, things went badly for the manufacturer and its British sister brand Vauxhall: In the first half of 2020, new car sales fell by 53.1 percent, which is more than that of its competitors VW or Ford. Most recently, only sales of the newly launched small car Corsa provided a little lightening of the mood.