Car manufacturer SEAT to temporarily cut 700 jobs in Catalonia

Barcelona (ACN).- The car manufacturer SEAT announced that 700 workers will be affected by a new temporary suspension of employees. The workers will be suspended from November of this year until June of 2011, when they will get their jobs back, said a spokesperson for the company. The Temporary Regulation of Employment will hit fewer workers than the previous one, which affected 1,100 employees. The company still has to negotiate the conditions of the cuts with unions.

The temporary suspension of employees aims to help tide over the financial difficulties of Seat and adjust the staff until the start of fabrication of the new Audi Q-3. By then, workers may come back to the factory. Seat directors said that they are trying to keep “all of the staff” even if the economical situation “is not very positive for employment”.

During the period that they will be out of work, workers will receive up to 85% of their salary, according to the company. SEAT also announced that it would pay full salary to employees that decide to do training while out of work. The plan does not affect older workers or those that cannot receive unemployment benefits. The cuts will especially affect section 3 of the Martorell factory, which nowadays manufactures the 'Exeo' car and, in the future, the Audi Q-3. The factory also produces the 'Ibiza', 'León' and 'Altea' cars.

Seat is one of the most important car manufacturers in Spain. The company has a great impact on the Catalan economy, as it represents some 1.2% of the Catalan GDP and more than 5% of the industrial sector employment.