THE HAGUE • Mitsubishi’s announcement on Monday that it will stop making cars in Europe by the end of 2012, “is a disaster” for the southern Netherlands where the country’s largest plant is based, says a Dutch trade union.
“This plant is the only one in the Netherlands. It is a gem. Closing it will is a disaster,” says Henk van Rees, spokesman for the FNV Bongenoten union which represents between 800 to 900 auto-industry workers at the NedCar plant. “In this region, where there is high unemployment, it will be extremely difficult for employees to find other jobs.”
Mitsubishi says it will stop manufacturing automobiles in Europe by the end of 2012, blaming a difficult operating environment in the debt-hit continent. The Japanese automaker produces the Colt subcompact and the Outlander sport- utility models at its wholly-owned unit at NedCar in Born, about 180 kilometres southeast of Amsterdam.
Mitsubishi is expected to suffer $287-million in operating losses in Europe for the fiscal year to March due to stagnant sales in a continent beset by the uncertainty of a raging debt crisis. It will be the first withdrawal from Europe by a major Japanese automaker, Japanese media say, adding that Mitsubishi now plans to shift its focus to emerging markets.
Mitsubishi says it willcontinue selling its own brand cars in Europe with shipments from plants in Japan and Thailand.
Output at NedCar, which was established in 1991, has remained sharply below its production capacity of 200,000 units a year, contributing to Mitsubishi’s operating loss in Europe, reports say.
