Volkswagen, GM Pare Work Hours in Germany
August 19 2016 - 1:20PM
Dow Jones News
Volkswagen AG on Friday said it would temporarily halt
production of its Golf and Sportsvan models at its main factory due
to a dispute with parts suppliers.
Volkswagen will stop production of the two vehicles at its
Wolfsburg, Germany, plant for a week beginning Monday due to a
shortfall in parts. On Thursday, Volkswagen separately said it
would reduce working hours at its Emden plant because it lacked
seating components from a supplier, and was considering cutting
work hours at four other plants in Germany due to a lack of gearbox
parts that had not been delivered.
Separately, General Motors Co.'s Adam Opel GmbH said it would
reduce working hours for some employees at factories in Rü
sselsheim and Eisenach this year due to weakening demand for its
Corsa and Insignia models.
The GM spokesman didn't say how long the reduced work hours
would last, saying it would depend on U.K. demand for the vehicles.
The company cited weaker demand in the aftermath of the U.K. vote
to leave the European Union.
A Volkswagen spokesman couldn't immediately say how many fewer
vehicles would be produced due to the halt in Wolfsburg or how many
workers would be affected. He also couldn't say whether workers
would stay home or simply work fewer hours in the six-day
period.
Around 73,000 workers are employed at the Wolfsburg plant, which
produced around 815,000 vehicles last year, according to the
company.
A court near Volkswagen's Wolfsburg headquarters has said two
units of parts supplier Prevent are currently involved in the
conflict with the auto maker. The court named Car Trim GmbH, which
makes seating parts, and ES Automobilguss GmbH, which makes gearbox
parts, among other components. Volkswagen has declined to name the
supplier.
Car Trim and ES Automobilguss confirmed on Thursday that they
were in a legal dispute with Volkswagen over what they said was
an unprovoked cancellation of an order. The companies said in a
joint statement, they weren't responsible for the crisis at
Volkswagen and the resulting short-time work. Prevent has declined
to comment.
On Thursday, a person familiar with the situation said as many
as 20,000 employees could be affected when shorter hours to go into
effect at the plants.
Natascha Divac contributed to this article.
Write to Hendrik Varnholt at hendrik.varnholt@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 19, 2016 13:05 ET (17:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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