SEAT management and union representatives met this afternoon with the aim of negotiating new flexibility measures to reprioritize production at the Martorell plant, due to the global shortage in the supply of semiconductors.
As a result of COVID-19, major semiconductor manufacturers reallocated their production to other sectors, such as consumer electronics. The rapid recovery of the automotive sector has led to vehicle manufacturers facing a semiconductor shortage since early 2021. In addition, new outbreaks of COVID-19 in Asia have caused the closure of semiconductor manufacturing plants and have accentuated the lack of component availability. For this reason, volatility in semiconductor delivery will continue for the next few months.
Thanks to the flexibility in the organization of production, SEAT S.A. maintained its forecast volumes in the first part of the year. However, in recent weeks the company has been forced to cancel production shifts and interrupt production on different occasions, agreeing on internal flexibility measures with union representatives.
The deterioration in the supply of semiconductors now requires reorganizing, planning and adopting new labor protocols. For this reason, the company management has today presented to the union representatives a temporary lay-off plan that will allow for the temporary reduction of part of the production, and the possible additional cancellation of shifts.The ERTE for the partial reduction of the production volume will be applied, first of all, on a voluntary basis. The scope and conditions of the ERTE, which would apply from September 27 and will be in effect until June 30 2022, will be determined during the negotiation. The company will also negotiate these flexibility measures at the Barcelona and El Prat de Llobregat centers.
Xavier Ros, SEAT S.A. Vice-President for Human Resources and Organization, said: “The global shortage in the supply of semiconductors requires us to adopt new flexibility measures. I thank the UGT and CC.OO. union representatives for the responsibility they have shown to adapt the production plan. Demand for the SEAT and CUPRA models is now at pre-COVID levels and we will continue to do our best to deliver for our dealers and customers.”
SOURCE: SEAT
