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- Employees support proposed plan
- Social plan for all employees
- Search for outside investor commences
Rüsselsheim / Antwerp. Opel employees in Antwerp yesterday voted to support a plan that allows Opel to withdraw from the plant in a socially responsible way. The cornerstone is a social plan that will be offered to all employees at the plant. In a first phase, a significant number of employees is expected to take the packages and leave before the end of June at the latest.
In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding between Opel/Vauxhall management and employee representatives foresees that both parties will cooperate as of immediately in a working group – led by the Flemish government – in order to find an outside investor. The search will conclude at the end of September. In case an investor can be found, this company’s business plan will govern how many employees could be taken over into their organization. If the search for an investor should not conclude positively, the social plan would be applied to the remaining employees and the plant would close by year end.
“We are pleased about the result of the vote, first and foremost because it ends the uncertainty that our employees in Antwerp experienced. They have done a tremendous job in the past, and it is very important to us that they now have a basis for planning their own future,” said Opel/Vauxhall CEO Nick Reilly.
He added: “The plant is situated in a prime location in the port of Antwerp and should be of interest to a variety of potential businesses.”
“This solution is also a milestone in our quest to prepare Opel/Vauxhall for future success. Following the labor agreements in the UK and Spain in March, this is an important next step and I am confident that we can now come to an agreement with our employee representatives about the planned cost reductions on a European level”
