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Re: Opel and Saab....GM Chooses German Plant Posted by Ian Glenday [Email]  (#95)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ian Glenday) on Fri, 4 Mar 2005 08:58:45
In Reply to: Opel and Saab...., Rich, Fri, 4 Mar 2005 05:32:03 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Quotes from the WSJ )nline
"BERLIN -- General Motors Corp. (GM) Friday said it chose its plant in Ruesselsheim, Germany, as the home of the next-generation mid-class Opel and Saab sedans, another step in the ongoing restructuring of the car maker's European operations.
The Opel plant, which is located near Frankfurt, beat out Saab's Trollhaettan facility and will build the new Saab 9-3 and Opel Vectra as of 2008. But the Swedish plant will continue production at least through 2010 under a deal with GM's European employees.
"Both facilities put their best foot forward," said General Motors Europe Chairman Fritz Henderson in a statement. He said Ruesselsheim's plan for the project was about EUR200 million cheaper than Trollhaettan's.
Although Trollhaettan missed out, GM reaffirmed its commitment to the plant and the Saab brand.
"The 9-3 and 9-5 will continue to be core products for the Saab brand, and will be renewed, but we will add a premium cross-over vehicle in the near future to complement this lineup," said GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster in a statement.
Klaus Franz, the head of GM's European employee group, said GM has committed to continuing production at Saab's core plant at the current level. The Trollhaettan facility produced 100,000 vehicles in 2004. This is about 53% of the plant's estimated 190,000 capacity.
Forster said the new Saab models are part of a broader new product initiative that involves 45 new vehicles over the next five years.
The consolidation of European mid-class car production is part of a wider GM effort to better exploit its enormous size to lower costs.
The world's largest car maker is also pooling together engineering resources. Last fall, it gave its development center in Ruesselsheim the responsibility for global mid-class car development.
The decision over the future home of the Saab 9-3 and Opel Vectra coincided with a deal with Opel's workforce aimed at lowering labor costs.
Opel froze wages this year, and future industry-wide salary increases will be 1% lower at the German car maker.
Opel pays its employees 15%-20% above the base salary in the German manufacturing industry and is seeking to close this gap.
In addition, the car maker's employees increased flexibility, with the working week fluctuating between 30 and 40 hours a week, depending on demand, while pay is based on 35 hours. Opel workers may also have to work up to 15 Saturday shifts a year.
In return, GM agreed to guarantee jobs and keep all its European plants operating until 2010.
Opel also said it plans to step up efforts to find partners for its component plant in Kaiserslautern."
Ian
_______________________________________ Ian 1959 93b 1967 96V4 1968 99 1974 99L 1988 900S 1988 900 1994 900S 1996 900S 1999 9-5SE, 2.3lpt 1995 9000 CSE 2006 9-3SC, 2.0T
, Fri, 4 Mar 2005 16:07:00
, Fri, 4 Mar 2005 13:09:37, Fri, 4 Mar 2005 08:58:45 <-- Viewing This Message
, Fri, 4 Mar 2005 21:23:37, Fri, 4 Mar 2005 21:32:16, Fri, 4 Mar 2005 06:39:42, Fri, 4 Mar 2005 08:41:16
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