Saab Supplier Crisis, a Communication Catastrophe

Swedish manufacturer Saab was in celebration no more than a month ago, as all the employees of the Trollhattan facility gathered to rejoice as a year since escaping GM passed. Yet, behind all the celebration and the flamboyant statements made by the car maker's executives, a new crisis loomed.

By the middle of April, Saab had to close its main facility, due to unpaid debt to its suppliers. The crisis has been lingering for nearly two weeks now, with no resolution in sight, despite the Swedish government intervention in the beginning of the week.

The way in which Saab reacted to the whole situation was criticized this week by the Scandinavian automotive suppliers association, FKG, who called the entire adventure a “communication catastrophe,” and even called some of the statements made by the Spyker-owned brand “lies.”

"Saab's way of communicating is a catastrophe," FKG managing director Sven-Ake Berglie was quoted as saying by just-auto. "They must have seen this coming up before in December already, but they did not say anything.”

"When the suppliers did not get paid, Saab said it was a few and it was due to the fact the suppliers wanted improved payment terms, which was a complete lie."

On Tuesday, all the parties involved in the crisis have come to a consensus surrounding the Swedish government plan to save the brand. If everything goes according to plan, Sweden will give conditional backing to Saab to sell its real estate, including the Trollhattan plant, to Bankas Snoras, an institution controlled by Vladimir Antonov. Saab would then have to lease back the plant from Snoras to continue its operations.