General Motors to shut Opel factory in Belgium - 歐洲車

General Motors Europe (GM) has said it will shut its Opel car assembly line
in Antwerp, with the loss of 1,200 jobs.
4 October 2010 Last updated at 15:35 GM


通用汽車宣布將會停止其在比利時安特衛普的生產線，造成1200個失業人口


The carmaker had intended to shut the Belgian factory earlier this year, then
relented in the hope of finding a buyer by the end of September.

But the search for an investor has failed, and the plant will now close at
the end of the year.

There have already been 1,400 job losses at the plant this year, and GM
planned another 5,700 across Europe.

今年年初通用汽車本想關掉這座比利時的工廠，後來緩和並期待九月底前能有新的買家

但尋求買主失敗，所以今年底這座工廠將會關閉

這座工廠今年已經有1400人失業，通用汽車在歐洲還會有5700個工作機會流失



"The other job cuts are mostly at plants in Spain, the UK and Germany," an
Opel spokesman told the BBC, adding that the cuts are nearly all implemented.

The Antwerp car plant, which was founded in 1924 and employed 7,000 at its
peak, has become the first in Europe to fall victim to the global slump in
demand since 2008.

Opel, which sells its cars under the Vauxhall badge in the UK, had set up a
working group, including the Flemish regional government and factory worker
representatives, in its failed attempt to find a buyer.

"Unfortunately, none of the potential investors was able to come forward with
a sustainable business concept for the plant," said Opel in a statement.

"其餘裁員大部分在西班牙、英國及德國的工廠" Opel發言人說

安特衛普工廠設立於1924，極盛時期曾有7000位員工

但在2008年後的全球需求減低後，成為第一個受難者

Opel在英國的副牌Vauxhall，在通用尋求買家失敗後，已經成立一個團隊

團隊成員包括有法比邊界的地方政府、工人代表等

"不幸的是，沒有任何有商業理念及有潛力的投資者出線" Opel發表聲明


The company said it is still open to outside buyers during the remaining
months until closure at the end of this year, but is no longer actively
searching.

The factory produced Astra convertible and estate cars for export outside
Belgium.

年底關廠前的幾個月，將持續開放買主洽談，但不再主動尋求

這座工廠曾生產Astra敞篷車及旅行車從比利時出口



Bouncing back

反轉

The factory closure and job cuts come just as GM Europe is about to recover
from a sharp fall in sales.

正當歐洲通用將從銷售谷底恢復時，工廠和工作機會都關閉了


Sales plummeted last year, partly because of a row with policy makers and
trade unions over jobs in Europe, partly because of uncertainty about the
Opel and Vauxhall brands' future, and partly because the global recession
resulted in a sharp fall in car sales for the entire motor industry.

銷售額去年直直落，部分是因為歐洲的政客及貿易聯盟在工作的議題上意見不合

另一部分是Opel及Vauxhall品牌未來的不確定性有關

還有一部分是因為全球大蕭條導致汽車銷售一蹶不振

But now the situation is brighter, chief executive Nick Reilly told BBC News
in an interview at the Paris motor show last Thursday.

"In every single market except Germany, our market share has increased this
year," he said.

"We have all our agreements signed with our labour unions and we have funding
in place so we are investing again.

"Before restructuring charges, we hope to make a profit next year, and
certainly by 2012."

但現在情況較為明朗，在上周四的巴黎車展上，執行長告訴媒體

"除了德國的市場之外，我們的市佔率今年已經上昇"

"我們已經和工會達成協議，並提供適當的資金，重新投資"

"在企業重整之前，我們希望明年度能賺錢，當然2012也是"



來源BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11470866

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