In yet another blow to the already suffering European auto industry, General Motors confirmed today that it plans to close its Antwerp, Belgium, Opel assembly plant. The facility will be wound down throughout 2010.
The assembly plant employs more than 2,600 workers, most of whom are likely to be cut because of the closure.
The Antwerp plant will eventually cease production of the Opel Astra, although the Detroit-owned German automaker also assembles the Astra in Poland, Germany and England.
“It’s high time that the restructuring of Opel finally begins,†Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, told Bloomberg. “A year has been wasted in discussions, and in the meantime, the competitors have done their homework.â€
Opel will likely cut more jobs than just the Antwerp plant, although just where those will come is unknown. The plant has been operational since 1925, when it began building Chevrolet vehicles for European consumers. Its vehicles accounted for nearly 10 percent of Opel’s 2008 production.
