General Motors (GM) Europe announced to unions yesterday that it is to close its Opel auto production plant in Antwerp, in a blow that the Belgian industry said would cost 5,000 jobs all told.
The site will be closed over “the course of 2010,” an Opel statement said.
A union representative immediately announced a blockade, saying no finished cars would be allowed out of the plant.
“They have announced to us their intention to proceed towards collective redundancy and the closure of the business,” said Walter Cnop, of the CSC union’s metalworkers’ branch.
In Germany, Opel directors said the factory directly employs just over 2,600 people. Previously, it was thought that certain senior management figures on-site would be retained and re-assigned.
Cnop said no production was planned tomorrow or Monday anyway, but that from Tuesday, “the factory will remain blocked until such time as we decide to let finished cars out.”
He underlined: “We’re not stopping anyone going in, individual parts can get in.”
Workers began blocking access to the northern Belgian factory on Wednesday, fearing the axe would finally fall at the planned meeting.
“It’s an absolute catastrophe for Belgian workers and manufacturing,” Cnop said, slamming management “arrogance” and a decision he said was “based on political considerations in no way assessed on economic grounds.”
“We are seen as antiquated objects,” sighed Joeri, who has worked for Opel for 22 years.
An emergency meeting with the office of Belgium’s devolved Flemish government leader Kris Peeters late yesterday afternoon will precede redundancy and resettlement talks with the company over the coming weeks and months.
Belgian technological industry federation Agoria said at least 5,000 jobs in the region could be lost amid the long-term knock-on effects of the closure.
Spokesman Rene Konings said sub-contractors would be spared immediate hardship through contracts with other plants within the group’s European division.
“The decision to announce this today was not taken lightly ... We must make this announcement now so that we can secure a viable future for the entire Opel and Vauxhall operations,” Opel chief executive Nick Reilly said.
“To ensure long-term sustainability for the company, Opel needs to reduce capacity by approximately 20 percent,” the statement said.
A broad restructuring plan is expected to include the elimination of 8,300 jobs from a total of almost 50,000 in Europe.
Opel needs 3.3 billion euros (US$4.7 billion) to finance its plan and hopes to get 2.7 billion euros from countries where Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall have operations.
GM had initially decided to sell Opel/Vauxhall but changed its mind after its own rescue by the US government, and has decided to turn the European unit around itself.
That decision provoked anger among German leaders and union officials who had backed Opel’s sale to the Canadian parts company Magna and its Russian partner, the state-owned Sberbank.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the