UK drama upstages MG Rover investment
Żerań is the production base of Daewoo FSO, which has been in trouble since the bankrupcy of its South Korean parent company, Daewoo, in the late 1990s.
Facing detailed questioning by a British parliamentary committee last week, MG Rover Group Chairman John Towers defended his company's pay strategy and did not confirm that production would indeed be trasferred to Poland.
However, in a later statement to the press, Towers said, "There is a huge market in Poland for the 75 and making it there would mean it would be priced for that market."
Public pressure on Rover in the UK to keep jobs and maintain a responsible corporate policy is seen by analysts as a potential danger to the Żerań investment, which could work as a dramatic cost-cutting move by the British car maker.
Earlier last month, MG Rover presented an official business plan to the government during a meeting with representatives of the State Treasury. Apparently unable or unwilling to provide capital to invest in Żerań, a partnership has been mooted with CWC Capital Management, whose member, Cornerstone Partners, helped to draft the business plan.
Leaked information from the plan sees Rover production beginning early next year, with the Rover 75 being produced for export. Yet there has been no specific mention of a reduction in Rover's UK production base.
Over the last six months, while in negotiations with MG Rover, Daewoo FSO has restructured its debt and shed thousands of jobs at Żerań. The reorganization of the Polish plant, Daewoo FSO officials claim, has been necessary to woo the potential British investor, which continues to make demands before it commits to the site.
For both Britain's MG Rover plant at Longbridge in Birmingham and Poland's Daewoo-FSO plant at Żerań, national interests are at stake. "The FSO plant is a symbol for the Polish workforce," says motor industry expert Wojciech Drzewiecki. "Pride, history and politics will affect the State's decisions, which may care more about securing jobs than about efficiency, and this will not necessarily help the relationship with MG Rover that they so dearly need."
One potential outcome for Żerań, according to Deputy Economy Minister Jacek Piechota, would be for the plant to continue production of the Matiz and Lanos cars, thanks to a Polish Army offset program. The announcement has been seen as a strong indication that MG Rover is still only one of many potential investors.
Facing detailed questioning by a British parliamentary committee last week, MG Rover Group Chairman John Towers defended his company's pay strategy and did not confirm that production would indeed be trasferred to Poland.
However, in a later statement to the press, Towers said, "There is a huge market in Poland for the 75 and making it there would mean it would be priced for that market."
Public pressure on Rover in the UK to keep jobs and maintain a responsible corporate policy is seen by analysts as a potential danger to the Żerań investment, which could work as a dramatic cost-cutting move by the British car maker.
Earlier last month, MG Rover presented an official business plan to the government during a meeting with representatives of the State Treasury. Apparently unable or unwilling to provide capital to invest in Żerań, a partnership has been mooted with CWC Capital Management, whose member, Cornerstone Partners, helped to draft the business plan.
Leaked information from the plan sees Rover production beginning early next year, with the Rover 75 being produced for export. Yet there has been no specific mention of a reduction in Rover's UK production base.
Over the last six months, while in negotiations with MG Rover, Daewoo FSO has restructured its debt and shed thousands of jobs at Żerań. The reorganization of the Polish plant, Daewoo FSO officials claim, has been necessary to woo the potential British investor, which continues to make demands before it commits to the site.
For both Britain's MG Rover plant at Longbridge in Birmingham and Poland's Daewoo-FSO plant at Żerań, national interests are at stake. "The FSO plant is a symbol for the Polish workforce," says motor industry expert Wojciech Drzewiecki. "Pride, history and politics will affect the State's decisions, which may care more about securing jobs than about efficiency, and this will not necessarily help the relationship with MG Rover that they so dearly need."
One potential outcome for Żerań, according to Deputy Economy Minister Jacek Piechota, would be for the plant to continue production of the Matiz and Lanos cars, thanks to a Polish Army offset program. The announcement has been seen as a strong indication that MG Rover is still only one of many potential investors.
