As of: 09/30/2021 12:59 p.m.
The shortage of semiconductors and other components is having a growing impact on the auto industry. Opel has now announced that it will close its plant in Eisenach at least until the end of the year. Short-time working is requested for employees.
The car manufacturer Opel closes its plant in Eisenach at least until the end of the year and has applied for short-time work. The trigger for the decision was the persistent shortage of components – in particular Opel and other car companies are lacking.
“Due to the ongoing pandemic and a global shortage of semiconductors, the global automotive industry is in an exceptional situation. In this demanding and uncertain situation, Stellantis is planning to make adjustments to production,” said a spokesman for the manufacturer belonging to the European conglomerate Stellantis, explaining the move. Initially, the “Automobilwoche” reported on the temporary closure of the Opel plant.
1300 employees on short-time work
According to the spokesman, 1,300 employees are affected by the move. “Short-time working is planned for employees in order to make the measure socially acceptable.” How many vehicles will not roll off the production line due to the months of standstill is difficult to estimate, since production has already been reduced due to delivery bottlenecks and long delivery times, it said.
In the plant in Thuringia’s sixth largest city with around 42,000 inhabitants, only the SUV model Opel Grandland is produced after production of the Opel Adam and Corsa models ended in 2019. Many suppliers have also settled in the vicinity of the plant.
Date open for restarting production
When asked, the spokesman did not want to give a specific date for the resumption of production in the plant. Production of the SUV in Eisenach should restart at the beginning of 2022, provided that the supply chains allow it. No information was given about the continuation of production of the Opel Grandland at the plant in Sochaux, France.
Just yesterday, the Volkswagen Group announced that production at the main plant in Wolfsburg will be almost completely shut down in the first half of October.