Nissan will assemble its new saloon car model in Barcelona

Barcelona (ACN).- On Monday Nissan finally confirmed that it will build its new saloon car model in Barcelona as of July 2014, after having reached a definitive agreement last week with trade unions to increase the competitiveness of the Catalan plant. The decision will bring in a direct investment of €130 million, creating 1,000 direct positions in the Nissan factory and 3,000 indirect jobs in the automobile parts supply industry in Catalonia. Nissan will produce 80,000 units per year and its Barcelona plant, located in the industrial and logistical Zona Franca district, will reach its maximum production capacity, assembling five different models and building 200,000 vehicles per year. The Japanese multinational’s official announcement puts an end to seven months of talks, including an intense five-week period at the end of the negotiation process when for some days Barcelona seemed to be out of the race since the talks had broken down. However, with the mediation of the Catalan Government, the unions finally accepted most of Nissan’s requirements and the company and the workers’ representatives signed an agreement on Tuesday last week based on a 20% salary reduction for new workers and the company’s commitment to guarantee the oldest jobs in the event of a mass layoff. In the company’s celebratory event to announce the investment, held on Monday morning in its Barcelona factory, the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, emphasised that Nissan’s announcement confirms that Catalonia is “an attractive and reliable country”. Mas stated that “when we are able to cooperate with generosity, we are a country that finds solutions”, The CEO of Nissan Motor Ibérica – the Spanish brand of the Japanese multinational car manufacturer, Frank Torres, underlined that the investment has been allocated to Catalonia thanks to the “responsibility” of those involved and “the consensus” reached by all. He also thanked the Catalan Government for its mediation role. Torres stated that with the new car model its Barcelona plant will become “a competitive reference point” within the group, placed in a good position to welcome the allocation of further productions.

Nissan’s decision spells good news for Catalonia’s labour market, for its industrial sector and, in particular, for the Catalan automotive industry. After a long negotiation process, which went through some critical moments in the last month and a half, the trade unions and the Spanish branch of Nissan, with the active intervention of the Catalan Government, finally managed to convince the Nissan headquarters in Japan to allocate the production of the new sedan car model to the company’s Barcelona plant. The factory, strategically based in the Zona Franca district, the Catalan capital’s main industrial and logistical pole located just next to Barcelona’s port and airport, will be producing the new saloon car as of July 2014. The location of the plant, which is also close to an international standard-width railway cargo terminal, allows Nissan to easily export the cars assembled in Barcelona to anywhere in Europe, as well as to other markets worldwide by sending them by rail or ship. The company’s initial aim is to produce 80,000 units of the new vehicle in Barcelona. By that time, Barcelona will also be producing 24,000 units of its new pick-up van, which will not only be sold within the European markets but will also be exported to the Middle East, as Frank Torres explained during Monday’s event.

A “strategic” decision creating jobs

The President of the Catalan Government qualified Nissan’s decision as “strategic”, as it consolidates Catalonia and in particular Greater Barcelona as one of the main centres of the automotive industry in Europe. Therefore, it was “basic” not to lose such an investment. Mas stated that attracting such an investment is a “real industrial policy” because “it creates jobs in the country’s industrial sector” and it is “technological and export-oriented”. Furthermore, it confirms that “Catalonia was, and continues to be, despite what is being said by some, an attractive and reliable country” to invest in, he stated; “attractive, for what we are, and reliable, for how we act”, he added. In addition, Mas said that Nissan’s decision also represents “an injection of self-confidence” for the Catalan economy and society, since “when we are able to cooperate with generosity, we are a country that finds solutions”, he added.

Mas emphasised the work done by the Catalan Government in attracting the investment

The Catalan President took the chance to underline the work done by the government he chairs to attract the investment, firstly by acting as a mediator to make the labour relations agreement possible, and secondly by contacting the top Nissan managers to convince them to choose Barcelona. In fact, Mas explained that he was following the negotiation process with great attention and that he was personally involved in contacting the top Nissan managers. In addition, he thanked the new Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, for his work, which was “the first assignment” Mas gave him when he took office five weeks ago, in a moment when the talks seemed to have stalled. Mas also thanked the Catalan Government’s new Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ramon Bonastre, who was particularly involved in some day-long meetings to reach a definitive consensus between the unions and the company. For all these reasons, the Catalan President wanted to answer to “all the people that sometimes get nervous and state that the Catalan Government is only focused on some particular issues [referring to Catalonia’s self-determination process]”. Mas insisted that “the Government worked on Nissan for as many hours as it would do with any other issue”. Frank Torres, the Nissan Motor Ibérica CEO, also thanked the Catalan Government for its involvement in the negotiation process as a mediator. Torres summed up by stating that attracting this investment had been “a team work” success.

The final competitiveness agreement

Talks faced a critical period a month and a half ago and they actually derailed about three weeks ago, when two trade unions – CCOO and UGT – refused to sign the company’s final offer, presented when an agreement was about to be reached regarding the main obstacle during the negotiation process: the dual salary scale. Nissan was insisting that, in order to reduce costs by €30 million and increase the plant’s competitiveness, the new workers should earn less than the workers already hired. The unions initially objected to this dual salary for existing and new workers, but finally they accepted it, after the company raised the wage new workers would initially earn. However Nissan also wanted to reduce the number of days off by two. At this point, the unions refused to sign and Nissan considered the talks to be over since they had already lasted six months and they were in a rush to allocate the new car model. Rumours were that the production of the new saloon car would be allocated to the United Kingdom, although the company had not announced anything. The Catalan Government insisted that the unions reconsidered their position.

The union representing the majority of Nissan’s Barcelona plant workers – Signem-USOC – signed the company’s final offer, but the CCOO and UGT decided to present their own proposal. CCOO and UGT’s proposal incorporated Nissan’s need to reduce costs by €30 million and the dual salary scale, but also asked for guarantees to keep the oldest jobs in case of a future mass layoff. The document was sent to the Catalan Government that met the unions again in order to make sure their proposal was in line with the company’s needs. Finally, after a day-long meeting with the unions, the company was asked to join the negotiation table and the final agreement was signed. The 1,000 new workers will start off earning €19,900 gross per year and, gradually during the next five years, they will see their salary increase up to €25,600 gross. This amount represents 20% less than the salary of the current workers. The unions and Nissan agreed that the difference will be compensated by additional training courses to be taken during working hours.