Opel will replace Astra with Zafira at Ruesselsheim plant

June 7, 2013 14:34 CET
GM's Opel brand will stop making its compact Astra hatchback in Ruesselsheim, Germany, in 2015 to make space for the Zafira minivan now made at its Bochum plant, which is scheduled to close by the end of next year. The company's factory in Gliwice, Poland, will increase Astra production to make up for the lost volume, an Opel spokesman said.... Read More »

 

PSA will close r&d site to reduce spending

May 22, 2013 09:49 CET
PSA will shut a French r&d facility as part of a program to reduce spending.... Read More »

 

Opel keeps Bochum logistics center open to fulfill contract

May 22, 2013 06:01 CET
Opel will keep a spare-parts distribution center open until 2016 at its plant in Bochum, Germany, as long as two years after car production ends at the site. The plant, which makes the Zafira minivan, is scheduled to close by the end of 2014 after workers rejected a restructuring plan in March that would have extended manufacturing there for another two years.... Read More »

 

PSA workers end 4-month strike over car plant closure

May 17, 2013 15:05 CET
Workers at a PSA factory near Paris have agreed to end a four-month strike in protest against the planned closure of the plant.... Read More »

 

GM will move Opel Zafira production to German plant

May 15, 2013 11:58 CET
General Motors will move production of the Opel/Vauxhall Zafira minivan to Ruesselsheim in Germany from its Bochum factory. Ruesselsheim and Vauxhall's plant in Ellesmere Port, England, had been in the running to gain Zafira production after Bochum closes.... Read More »

 

PSA unions back job-cuts plan, French plant closure

April 30, 2013 06:01 CET
PSA has received the backing of five of its six main unions to push ahead with plans to eliminate 11,200 jobs and shutter a French factory, a central part of wide-ranging reforms at the French carmaker aimed at halting ongoing losses.... Read More »

 

PSA restructuring plan cleared by Paris court

April 26, 2013 15:49 CET
PSA/Peugeot-Citroen can move forward with the elimination of 11,200 jobs and a factory closing after a French court threw out a legal challenge from two unions to the plan.... Read More »

 

U.S. union leader prods Opel workers to keep German plant open

April 23, 2013 23:19 CET
Workers at Opel's factory in Bochum, Germany, should accept a deal they previously rejected to keep their jobs, Bob King, the head of the U.S.-based United Auto Workers union, said.... Read More »

 

UAW's King prods Opel workers to revote, keep German plant open

5:19 pm U.S. ET | April 23, 2013
The head of the UAW suggested German hourly workers at a General Motors plant should accept a deal they previously rejected in order to keep their jobs.... Read More »

 

PSA mulls Aulnay plant closure this year, sources say

April 18, 2013 14:34 CET
PSA may shut its Aulnay plant near Paris as early as September, ahead of a proposed closure in 2014, because strikes are disrupting production, according to sources.... Read More »

 

Opel board meets to seal fate of Bochum plant

April 17, 2013 13:30 CET
Opel's supervisory board is meeting today to approve the first closure of a German auto plant in the country since World War II. The carmaker is shutting the Bochum plant, which builds the Zafira minivan, as part of a wider restructuring plan in Europe.... Read More »

 

RESTRUCTURING

German union bosses approve Opel deal despite split

March 27, 2013 18:02 CET
German trade union IG Metall's federal executive board approved a labor deal with Opel, paving the way for the unit to begin restructuring its domestic operations.... Read More »

 

SUPPLIERS

Saint-Gobain to close Belgian windscreen factory that supplies Ford's Genk plant

March 26, 2013 15:38 CET
French supplier Saint-Gobain plans to close a factory in Belgium that supplies glass windscreens to Ford's doomed plant in Genk. Ford announced late last year that it would be closing the Genk plant as well as two others in Britain, to stem losses in Europe.... Read More »

 

RESTRUCTURING

Opel unions' failed gambit plays into GM's hands

March 23, 2013 12:50 CET
Opel workers in Bochum, Germany, appear to have lost a high-stakes gamble to save their factory after an attempt to put pressure on Opel parent General Motors backfired and GM opted to close the plant ahead of schedule.... Read More »

 

PRODUCTION

Opel union seeks talks over Bochum future after workers reject deal

March 22, 2013 12:07 CET
Opel union leaders are seeking talks over the future of the General Motors unit's Bochum, Germany, car factory after workers rejected a deal that would have saved more than a third of the jobs at the location.... Read More »

 

PRODUCTION

Ford's European sales slide threatens revival plan

March 21, 2013 19:05 CET
Ford's plan to cut jobs and close plants may not be enough to halt losses in Europe where moves to rein in margin-crushing discounts have sparked a further sales plunge. Ford's European slide reflects efforts to end a discount blowout, according to industry insiders.... Read More »

 

EUROPEAN RESTRUCTURING

Opel will close Bochum plant early after workers reject deal

March 21, 2013 20:35 CET
GM's Opel unit said it would close down its factory in Bochum earlier than planned after the plant's employees turned down a deal that would have saved 1,200 jobs.... Read More »

 

PSA reaches deal with majority of French workers on restructuring

March 19, 2013 06:01 CET
PSA has struck a deal with five French unions, representing 76 percent of its workforce, over severance packages that the automaker will offer employees as it seeks to reduce its headcount in the country by 17 percent.... Read More »

 

Plastic Omnium to close bumper plant in Belgium

March 8, 2013 14:07 CET
French supplier Plastic Omnium said it plans to close its Belgian bumper manufacturing plant this summer in response to shrinking car sales in Europe.... Read More »

 

GM guarantees Opel jobs after unions agree to factory closure, pay freeze

Feb. 28, 2013 13:01 CET
Opel labor leaders agreed with management to the closure of the Bochum car plant in Germany at the end of 2016 in exchange for job guarantees for 20,000 German workers.... Read More »

 

PSA workers at Aulnay plant transferred early to avoid violence

Feb. 15, 2013 11:51 CET
PSA unions agreed to allow the carmaker start to move workers from its troubled Aulnay plant in response to violence and threats against staff ignoring a strike call.... Read More »

 

Opel labor talks resume Friday with no end in sight

Feb. 14, 2013 15:19 CET
German labor leaders will return to the negotiating table with Opel for two days of talks starting Friday. Representatives of the workforce say there are still "major points" left to clarify between the two sides including the future of 3,000 employees at Bochum's assembly plant, due to close before the end of 2016.... Read More »

 

PSA workers face threats from striking colleagues at doomed French plant

Feb. 7, 2013 14:28 CET
For workers on the assembly line at PSA's Aulnay plant near Paris, starting their shift has become a daily test of nerves.They face jeers and threats, as well as eggs and other objects hurled by striking colleagues protesting against the shutdown and PSA's restructuring plans... Read More »

 

PSA and Renault push on with restructuring moves

Feb. 5, 2013 18:28 CET
PSA won staff agreement for an early wind-down of its doomed Aulnay plant, as rival French carmaker Renault pressed unions to sign a new national labor deal.... Read More »

 

PSA unions bicker over job cuts at crisis-hit automaker

Feb. 1, 2013 06:01 CET
PSA/Peugeot-Citroen labor leaders squared off against one another over a plan to eliminate 17 percent of the automaker's French work force, with three of the five main unions urging immediate action to stem losses.... Read More »