SEAT Alters 2009 Production

Spanish carmaker SEAT is the latest victim of the global recession as the company has just announced that it decided to modify the initial production schedule due to the decreasing demand on most markets. Basically, SEAT takes exactly the same decisions as the rest of the automotive world which, under the pressure of the financial crisis, recorded very poor sales and lowered production for specific markets. The US-based companies are surely the best example in this matter, as the well-known Detroit 3 are now close to bankruptcy due to the much-debated economic recession.

SEAT said it will reduce production volume at the Martorell plant for the first half of 2009, due to “the persistent market downturn, particularly in Spain and its main export markets, coupled to future uncertainty in those markets.”

The temporary Labour Force Adjustment Plant (LFAP) proposed by SEAT concerns the period between February 2nd and June 30th 2009, the Spanish carmaker said in statement released to the press.

“This temporary LFAP to be presented consists of 7 to 29 non-production days at the different production lines. The workforce affected by these production stoppages will fall within the scope of the existing LFAP,” SEAT explained. “The company has been forced to adjust its production forecast for the first half of 2009 to harmonize production volume with expected demand.”

Beside this cost-cutting measure, SEAT may also fire about 5,300 employees in the first months of 2009, Just-auto reported quoting the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. SEAT's sales dropped 24.8 percent to 96,900 in the first 11 months of 2009, according to the same source, while the the automotive market recorded a 26 percent fall in the same period.