On a day as lively as today (you can see why here) the administration of Autoeuropa announced that it will stop production from December 8th to January 7, 2013, and all because of the damn shortfall in orders that has been increasing in the last times.
“We are going to work until December 7, but then there is an 11-day break, followed by the usual Christmas holidays”, announced the company's spokeswoman, Carmo Jardim. Two more days of non-production are planned, on January 18th and 25th (two Fridays).
In a statement, the administration of Autoeuropa also stated that it would work with the Workers' Committee, the Portuguese Government and the Volkswagen Group, “to implement measures that guarantee the maintenance of all jobs in 2013“. Which is still "good" news in the midst of so much financial suffocation.
To give you a little idea of what is being talked about, the plant in Palmela produced 101,457 vehicles from January to October this year, in other words, 11.1% less than production in the same period last year. And as if all this were not enough, Autoeuropa is still facing some additional problems in the export of vehicles due to the port workers' strike.
Text: Tiago Luís