Japanese Yazaki Saltano plant cites “current critical situation in European car industry”
The Yazaki Saltano auto plant, in Ovar (Aveiro district) has announced it will be laying off 364 workers.
The factory claims this is a necessary measure to save the business, adding that the country is experiencing instability in this sector with a drop in the sale of electric vehicles.
Those most affected will be the older employees, close to retirement age, and also the younger ones, who have been with the company for less time.
Consultations have begun with employee representatives and trade unions, the company has confirmed to Lusa news agency.
Yazaki Saltano is one of the main suppliers of electrical and electronic systems for the automotive industry. In a statement, the company explains that it is being “strongly affected by the current critical situation in the European automotive industry” – a crisis which has led to sales being “significantly below expectations”.
“The automotive industry is currently facing challenges not only in Europe, but also globally, and the transition to electric mobility is progressing at a slower pace than expected. As a result, Yazaki’s parts sales figures have consistently recorded results below projections for several months,” reads the statement.
According to the company, the Ovar plant is being “particularly affected by developments in the sector, and there is no forecast of a positive change in the long term”.
“For this reason, the company is forced to adopt the measures now communicated. Although there is a possibility that some workers will be relocated to unaffected business areas, it is not possible to offer alternative solutions to the majority of those affected”, the statement admits.
The company also guarantees that “all the necessary legal procedures have been complied with (…) a Support Office has been created exclusively dedicated to this issue, with the aim of supporting all the workers affected, with a special focus on relocation”.
Crisis in the automotive sector
This is not the first company that has been negatively affected by the crisis in the automotive sector. Over 1,000 people have lost jobs in companies in Portugal in the last few months.
The Ovar workers were informed of the decision by the factory’s management yesterday afternoon.
The National Union of Industry and Energy warns that several families work at the plant.
“We have now received the document listing the people who have been made redundant or laid off. It’s a process that is starting, we have been guessing for some time that it might happen, the number of orders has decreased and in the past the company was warning us that if the volume of orders didn’t increase it was going to proceed with collective redundancies. (…) There are situations of entire families working in this unit, and frankly it is very distressing for these people,” union leader Gustavo Gaspar tells Lusa. ND
