BERLIN -- Opel will start short-time work shifts this month at its home plant in Ruesselsheim, near Frankfurt.
The short-time work will last for six months, an Opel spokesman said on Tuesday.
The decision to cancel the late shift will affect about 2,600 workers. It is part of a cost-cutting scheme that Opel's owner, PSA Group, is implementing in Germany.
The Ruesselsheim factory's long-term future is secured with the production of the Opel Astra model there starting in 2021, the spokesman said.
Among vehicles currently built in the Ruesselsheim plant are the Insignia midsize car and the Zafira minivan, according to Automotive News Europe Guide to European Assembly Plants.
The reason for the short-time working is a big drop in sales of the cars built in the plant, German media reported. Insignia sales in Europe fell 36 percent to 26,276 in the first half, according to JATO Dynamics market researchers. Zafira sales were down 58 percent to 8,370.
Opel said in June that the decision to build the next Astra, which will be based on PSA's EMP2 platform, in Ruesselsheim was made possible by improvements in the factory's efficiency and competitiveness.
The current Astra is produced in Gliwice, Poland, and Ellesmere Port, England.
PSA will focus on light van production in Gliwice and has said a decision whether Ellesmere Port keeps Astra production along with Ruesselsheim depends on the UK's future trading terms with the European Union.
PSA bought Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall from General Motors in 2017 in a $2.6 billion deal.
The savings from the integration of Opel-Vauxhall contributed to PSA's record profit in the first half of 2019.
Automotive News Europe contributed to this report
