Government to Help in Face of Plant...
Government to Help in Face of Plant Shutdown: The regional government of Catalonia in Spain promised $44.8 million in credits and guarantees to auto parts suppliers willing to set up shop on the Barcelona site of the auto company SEAT’s apparently doomed Zona Franca factory. German car maker Volkswagen, which bought SEAT from the Spanish government in 1986, has announced plans to shut down the plant and cut 9,000 of the factory’s 13,500 jobs. The plan has thrown the highly industrialized region into panic, with labor unions planning strikes at both the Barcelona facility and SEAT-VW factories in nearby Martorell and in Pamplona. VW has proposed turning the Zona Franca plant into an industrial park for parts suppliers.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
