VDL Nedcar has another client for the near future when BMW Group leaves. That is good news, according to the trade unions CNV and FNV, although this does not remove all uncertainty.
VDL Nedcar was looking for new clients after BMW decided to no longer have cars built by VDL Nedcar, but to transfer the production of its own cars and those of its subsidiary brand Mini to its own factories. One new client has now been found; the American start-up Canoo. In the fourth quarter of 2022, VDL Nedcar will start production of the Canoo Life Style Vehicle. In 2023, the production volume should reach 15,000 cars per year and the contract runs until at least 2028.
Labor unions
The trade union CNV calls the contract that car manufacturer VDL Nedcar has concluded with Canoo ‘positive news’. “Employees in Born constantly want to know what their future will be when the contract with BMW expires. This is not enough, but it gives perspective and people are looking for that,” says union director Robert Wonnink. Trade union FNV joins CNV. “This is positive news and means employment for 1,100 people at least until 2028,” a spokeswoman said. The union also expresses the hope that the contract will ‘have an attractive effect on other brands’. According to the union, the contract could even act as a kind of flywheel for attracting other innovative car technologies, such as cars powered by solar energy or hydrogen.
Wonnink (CNV) explains that a new production line has to be built for the new cars. What that means for employment is still unknown. The 1,000 Canoo cars that will be produced by the end of 2022 will require about 1,100 people, Wonnink says. Currently about 4,500 people work in Born. The union hopes to have more clarity about the number of jobs by the end of this year.
Province
The Province of Limburg calls the contract an ‘important step towards the future’ and also points to the perspective that this contract provides for employment and support for the economy in Limburg. In addition, the plan to build electric cars also fits in with the province’s vision for innovation and sustainability in the region.