Failure The Chinese GWM withdraws its offer to reindustrialize Nissan Barcelona
Close a Navara, the last Nissan manufactured in Zona Franca
Andy Palmer "If I were a Nissan worker I would choose Punch's industrial project"
Nissan's reindustrialization commission, made up of the company, the unions and the central and regional government, made its big bet on the Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motors (GWM) and backed down this week, with little time to react, it has made it clear that
there was no solid plan B.
Or at least the depth of that one.
This has been demonstrated after the fourteenth meeting of the table, held yesterday, no matter how much the
central and regional governments have insisted on saying that the jobs that are lost with the departure of Nissan "will be guaranteed."
The Japanese company assembled the last vehicle in the Free Zone last Thursday and will close its industrial facilities in Barcelona on December 31.
A staff of about 1,400 workers
“Whichever companies replace Nissan, the workforce will be covered.
The industrial and logistics projects that are candidates to succeed her guarantee a number of jobs that is even higher than the current one, ”
stated a statement from the Ministry of Industry.
It is the same message that the Government Secretary General for Industry, Raül Blanco, had launched this morning at a ceremony in Barcelona.
And that the Generalitat also launched.
Nissan's
three facilities
in Barcelona, located in the Zona Franca, Sant Andreu de la Barca and Montcada i Reixac employed around 3,000 employees,
70% of them in the first of these factories.
Although the figure has been
reduced to about 1,400 workers
once the rest have taken advantage of the pre-retirement plans or the compensation agreed with the company, and which reached 60 days per year worked.
Strengthen the electromobility hub
The idea is that the departure of GWM, which will have its factory in another country on the Old Continent despite the improvements that were offered at the last minute,
be compensated by reinforcing the role of the two minor candidates in the initial shortlist.
On the one hand,
the electromobility hub led by the Catalan company QEV Technologies
and which, in addition to the Sant Andreu de la Barca plant (42,000 square meters) for which it has already applied,
could occupy a large part of the 500,000 square meters that will be free in the Free Trade Zone.
This consortium, which includes a dozen companies, would manufacture different electric models, such as a small van and even a large vehicle. In a first phase, according to the unions, it could provide
between 700 and 800 new jobs, with the capacity to grow later. But it still does not have any industrial activity.
For its part, in the center of Montcada i Reixac (74,000 square meters)
the manufacturer of electric motorcycles Silence would
be installed
.
This company, with a significant penetration in Spain and Europe, has Acciona as its main shareholder and also builds scooters for Seat, to whom it could supply the S04 microcar that they presented weeks ago.
"It guarantees the continuity of the automotive industry and has a great future," the Ministry of Industry said yesterday
about the Catalan company.
Aerial view of the Nissan facilities in Zona Franca
The other alternatives
In this situation, the question would be to know which project or projects would occupy the part of the Free Zone that the electromobility hub would not absorb.
From the list
has dropped the armored manufacturer Tess Defense, which was going to carry out maintenance and testing of military vehicles.
This project was never welcomed, although the unions have criticized that it has not been thoroughly studied. Meanwhile, they have been against
logistics
offers
, such as Australia's Goodman. They say that they do not contribute to recover the auxiliary automotive sector,
very affected by the departure of Nissan, and on which another 13,000 jobs depend.
And Belgian Punch has returned to the scene, keeping "interest intact" now with a review of her initial project, discarded in favor of GWM.
Punch planned to invest 650 million in Barcelona to manufacture about 76,000 vehicles / year in 2030.
“Our proposal would allow us to find a useful solution for all parties, including the hub led by QEV Technologies.
In addition
, it could safeguard jobs and the current base of suppliers, "they assured from the company yesterday.
To this must be added the offer of Mecalux, manufacturer of industrial shelving, which promises to create 300 jobs.
It hardly has possibilities.
New meeting on December 29
The commission should resume talks with Punch shortly, as their next meeting will be on December 29.
That is to say, just two days before the end of the 38-year history of Nissan in Barcelona, where it has manufactured 3,345,000 units of 15 models, some as iconic as the Patrol or the Terrano II.
The last vehicle to come off its chains this Thursday was a Navara pickup.
The other car being made, the e-NV200 electric van, was discontinued on December 9.
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MotorNissan will invest 15,600 million euros in electrification until 2026
Motor Counter-offer of more public money for Great Wall to keep Nissan
Chinese GWM withdraws its offer to reindustrialize Nissan Barcelona
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