Gliwice to produce at 50% following 350 redundancies

Opel Polska, a subsidiary of General Motors, has confirmed that it will lay off 350 workers, or 18% of the assembly line staff, at its Gliwice plant by the end of June. Company spokesman Wojciech Osos said yesterday, "The reduction results from a slump in the local market and our plans to stop production of the Opel Astra model at Gliwice." Osos confirmed that production of the Agila will continue at Gliwice, although no decision has been made as to whether another model will also be produced instead of the Astra. Warren P. Browne, president of GM Poland, told a news conference, "We hope a decision will be made by the end of next year." In an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza, John Burton, director of Opel Gliwice, said the plant would be operating at around 50% of its capacity. He also revealed that according to an external audit, the quality of cars produced at Gliwice is higher than at any other GM plant in Europe. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 24; Reuters) P.W.