The Catalan employers' association Foment del Treball has come out this Sunday in defense of “the management and workers” of Seat, whose future is in check due to the restructuring plans of the Volkswagen group – parent company of the Catalan automobile company –, among which 50,000 jobs must be eliminated (in addition to another 50,000 eliminated until 2024). "Seat's relationship with Catalonia is not only historical, but also a reference and full of the future. The Seat brand is part of our industrial heritage. And Seat S.A., Martorell and its capacity to manufacture vehicles must continue to be part of the industrial future of Catalonia," stated the organization chaired by Josep Sánchez Llibre in a statement.
Until this Sunday, Catalan businessmen have remained cautious in the face of information that suggested that Volkswagen's plans could spell the end of the Seat brand. In the meeting at the highest level of the group last Friday, this option was finally not made explicit, but it did leave the future of the brand in the air from 2030 onwards. The brand, furthermore, does not have plans to develop electric cars or new planned models. Given this lack of definition, the employers have waited until this Sunday to release their statement. And he does it in a measured way.
Foment first "values" the "message of trust" that, in his opinion, the president of Seat, Markus Haupt, and that of Volkswagen, Olvier Blume, have transmitted about "the future of the company and its industrial capacity", while supporting the president of the works council, Matías Carnero, for coming out "in defense of a solid industrial future and quality employment." Furthermore, Foment differentiates the future of the brand itself from the “commercial future” of the industrial company. “Beyond the evolution that the brand may have, what must be absolutely guaranteed is the industrial future of Seat S.A., Martorell and all of its plants in Catalonia,” the statement indicates.
The note, however, also reflects the business community's concern about the progressive loss of prominence of the motor sector in Catalonia, after having been losing production centers such as those of Nissan, Yamaha, Derbi or Pirelli. However, Seat would be a very hard blow due to its “strategic” nature and its size. Foment recalls that not only 13,000 direct jobs are at stake, but also an "extensive network of suppliers, auxiliary companies and indirect jobs linked to its activity." “Its dimension, therefore, greatly exceeds the limits of the company itself and constitutes one of the great pillars of the Catalan and Spanish industry,” the statement says. “For Foment, any strategic transformation of the Volkswagen Group must aim to reinforce the industrial role of Seat S.A. within the group and preserve its capacity to generate employment, investment, innovation and economic activity in Catalonia,” continues the employer's association.
Given the investments historically carried out by the automobile company – often encouraged by public funds – Foment believes that the company should maintain its activity in Martorell. “Foment del Treball will be alongside Seat S.A., its management and its workers in the defense of this industrial project. Catalonia must continue manufacturing automobiles, incorporating new models and new technologies and generating quality industrial employment,” the note concludes.
