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General Motors Corp. says it has resumed production of is Opel Combo delivery van at its Azambuja, Portugal, plant after labor and management agree to resume talks over the plant’s planned closure.
GM intends to shutter its light-commercial vehicle factory by December, resulting in approximately 1,100 lost jobs. Combo output will be transferred to GM’s Zaragoza, Spain, plant.
Operations were suspended when workers rejected the auto maker’s severance offer.
“Production has resumed at the plant after we agreed with workers to restart negotiations,” a GM spokesman confirms.
The Azambuja plant closure is a blow to Portugal, which once offered some of the lowest-cost labor in the European Union but now faces stiff competition from Eastern Europe.
