Auto Parts Maker Kostal to Cut Jobs, Shift Production from Spain to Morocco

Kostal is preparing to lay off 16% of its staff (120 people) working in its Sentmenat plant, due to production problems caused by the supply crisis that has been shaking the automotive sector for more than a year, particularly the shortage of microchips, according to Economia Digital.

According to employee representatives, this crisis is exacerbated by a "transfer of production" from the plant located in the province of Barcelona to the plant in Morocco where costs are lower. This is why they are asking the company’s management to postpone this massive layoff and invite them to the negotiating table in order to find "non-traumatic measures" for their workers.

The union declares that 89 employees are of pre-retirement age and proposes that an agreement be reached to facilitate voluntary departures. However, it regrets that Kostal has acted "in bad faith" by filing the layoff file in the summer, when part of the staff and the works council are on vacation. It wishes the negotiations to resume in September, when all the workers will be available.

This measure comes at a time when the main automotive manufacturers in Catalonia are moving towards more sustainable mobility. Seat, for example, plans to sell 500,000 Cupra electric vehicles in the coming years, to compete with Nissan’s QVE and Silence vehicles.