Car factory VDL Nedcar, until recently one of the largest industrial employers in the Netherlands, will cut another two thousand jobs as of March next year. After that, only about 450 people still work at the factory in Born, Limburg.
Nedcar is part of the Eindhoven industrial group VDL. It is a ‘freelance’ car factory that works on behalf of major brands. In recent years, Nedcar has been building cars for BMW, but that order ends these months. On November 1, more than two thousand people lost their jobs at Nedcar in a first round of downsizing. On Thursday, VDL announced that many jobs will also disappear in March, because no new major client has been found for the factory.
In a statement, John van Soerland, director of the factory, said that “we fought very hard” for a new customer, but that one was not found, partly due to overcapacity on the car market. “We are disappointed about this and we are sorry for our employees who will lose their jobs.”
New clients
Van Soerland emphasized that VDL continues to look for new clients. That is why, according to him, Nedcar will continue to employ 450 people. This concerns people whose “competencies” VDL wants to retain in the event that a new customer presents itself. The company emphasizes that this means it employs more people than is strictly necessary to keep the factory on standby. They will carry out other activities.
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For decades, Nedcar was the driving force behind Limburg, but it is in danger of coming to a standstill: ‘That piece of pride is now being taken away’
Nedcar, the only car factory in the Netherlands, was for many years one of the most important private employers in Limburg. At its peak, the company employed 7,500 people. VDL wants to use the space that becomes available in the enormous factory complex to accommodate other activities, such as battery assembly. This involves several hundred new jobs.