Again uproar about Opel’s German foundations. Parent company Stellantis would like to close the money tap further at Opel’s home base in Rüsselsheim and move R&D activities abroad.
Opel and Rüsselsheim have been linked since the creation of the brand. After all, this is where Adam Opel laid the foundation for Opel. It is therefore almost inconceivable that Opel will pick up its bags. It doesn’t go that far either, but it seems more and more that Opel is being stripped by Stellantis in its hometown.
Less than a week ago, it was announced that Stellantis would like to divest two German Opel factories, including the factory in Rüsselsheim. Now message the local medium Hessenschau that the Opel headquarters in Rüsselheim will also be affected. Employees of Opel’s R&D department, among others, have been told that they are becoming too expensive. Stellantis would like to transfer most of the work from Opel’s headquarters to – obviously cheaper – Morocco.
The works council is sounding the alarm about the state of affairs. “There is mounting evidence that the next restructuring of Stellantis is not only imminent, but that it is already being implemented illegally in some areas without prior information, advice and negotiation with employee representatives,” it said. Hessenschau. Stellantis allegedly failed to respect employee participation rights, which is why the works council is taking legal action.
An agreement was signed in 2018 with the then parent company PSA for a job guarantee in Germany until 2023. However, that will not last long, so that does not offer much guidance. The mayor of Rüsselsheim, Udo Bausch, says he is going to talk to Stellantis. “Stellantis’ plans should in no way have a negative impact on Opel employees. I will fight for that in the negotiations with Stellantis,” said the mayor.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl