Dilip Kuner
WORKERS at the doomed Nissan factory in Barcelona are waiting to see if their jobs have been saved by LG.
The Korean giant is considering a proposal to convert the car assembly plant – slated for closure in December 2021 – into a battery factory.
The Spanish government has offered direct aid of €600 million towards the €1.6 billion cost of the proposed takeover, with LG due to make a decision by the end of this month.
Spain is the second largest electric vehicle manufacturing country in Europe after Germany. If given the go ahead, the plant would be LG’s second battery facility in Europe. Its first is in Poland.
It would supply batteries to Seat, which has the largest car factory in Spain in Martorell. Seat recently announced that it intends to invest €5 billion by 2025 in R&D for the development of vehicles, especially electric ones.
The converted factory would employ between 1,500 and 2,000 people. The facility presently has a 2,500 strong workforce.
An LG spokesman said that the company was one of two candidates being considered, but denied local media reports that it was definitely taking over the factory.
Nissan had been suffering from overcapacity, with the Barcelona plant operating at only 20% last year. The firm’s global output will be reduced by 20% with plant closures in Spain and Indonesia.
The regional Catalan government had hoped to save the Barcelona factory by giving €3 million towards the cost of a new paint facility but Nissan has decided this is not enough.
