Friday, November 14, 2008
GM says car factories will not close
| The boss of General Motors in Europe says the company will not close any factories on this side of the Atlantic "unless an asteroid hits the earth". |
That will be good news for Vauxhall workers at Ellesmere Port, near Liverpool who have been in fear of their jobs since the giant carmaker announced that it may run out of money early next year. In an interview with Automotive News Europe, GM Europe president Carl-Peter Forster said no factory closures are planned despite the economic downturn which has seen GME record a loss of £700 million before tax during the third quarter. Forster told the automotive industry newspaper: "If the world stops tomorrow, no cars are sold and an asteroid hits the Earth and it is dark for the next 10 years. That is the environment where we would have to consider plant shutdowns." Even so, GM's European operations have been told to shave almost £500 million from their costs and Forster said he would be speaking to worker representatives to find ways to cut production without further temporary shutdowns. GME temporarily idled nearly all of its European factories during October to cut production by 40,000 vehicles. Last week in the USA, GM said it was weeks, not months, from running out of cash having ended the third quarter with about £8.5 billion in cash. It needs at least £7 billion to £9 billion to operate and pay bills and is burning cash at a rate of more than £1.3 billion a month. DATED: 14.11.08 FEED: HA |
