GM to close Bochum

[davepoth]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/dec/10/ope...

Well that's a turn up for the books; the UK factories must be bloody excellent if they'd rather go through the effort of closing a German one.

[LuS1fer]

Oh I don't know, they are the only marque that gets no kudos for being "German" so what's the point, might as well build them in China or the Ukraine and churn them out cheap.

[Oldandslow]

In this market perhaps. In Ireland they use the Opel badge and advertise heavily on their Germanness (Britishness not being that desirable I suppose) but it's Opel everywhere except the UK.

[gherkins]

Bochum is really inefficient compared to other GM plants, including Luton and Ellesmere Port, and and has only been kept open as a result of "grants" from the German government. The workers are already on vastly reduced working hours, supported financially by the government. Merkel can't justify giving GM another wad of cash to keep it open, after the fiasco with the 1.5 billion euros loan in 2009. German protectionism only goes so far.

[Agem]

Gm have already been told that the Bank of England is going to crash the value of the £ in 2013. Cheap labour coming soon!
Mike

[H100S]

Germany will still be important for R&D and engine manufacturing.

[Crafty_]

gherkins said:

Bochum is really inefficient compared to other GM plants, including Luton and Ellesmere Port, and and has only been kept open as a result of "grants" from the German government. The workers are already on vastly reduced working hours, supported financially by the government. Merkel can't justify giving GM another wad of cash to keep it open, after the fiasco with the 1.5 billion euros loan in 2009. German protectionism only goes so far.

Apparently Bochum made something like 30 cars an hour, Ellesmere Port have peaked as high as 52. Quite why/how the comparison was made, I have no idea.

Either way, Ellesmere and Gwilice are building astras now. Not sure what they are using the belgian factory for ?

[RWA441]

Crafty_ said:

gherkins said:

Bochum is really inefficient compared to other GM plants, including Luton and Ellesmere Port, and and has only been kept open as a result of "grants" from the German government. The workers are already on vastly reduced working hours, supported financially by the government. Merkel can't justify giving GM another wad of cash to keep it open, after the fiasco with the 1.5 billion euros loan in 2009. German protectionism only goes so far.

Apparently Bochum made something like 30 cars an hour, Ellesmere Port have peaked as high as 52. Quite why/how the comparison was made, I have no idea.

Either way, Ellesmere and Gwilice are building astras now. Not sure what they are using the belgian factory for ?

Nothing, Antwerp is now gone.