Interim state of affairs concerning the voluntary severance scheme for NedCar personnel
Born, 5 September 2006 - NedCar is today announcing the initial results of the voluntary severance scheme which is available to the company’s personnel until the end of November this year. This initial summary of the results shows that more than 800 employees signed a redundancy agreement in August, and that an additional hundred or so employees aged 58 or over are availing themselves of the possibility to take early retirement. This brings the number of employees that have already indicated acceptance of voluntary redundancy to an interim total of 900.
Although interest in the scheme is greater than expected, the figures needed to avoid compulsory redundancies in 2007 have not yet been reached. The maximum number of applications from office workers and staff in supervisory or managerial positions has already been reached, so that registration for voluntary redundancy is no longer possible for this category of employees. In the production environment, however, there are still 250 employees who are surplus to current staffing requirements.
In granting or refusing a request for release under the voluntary redundancy scheme, explicit consideration is given to safeguarding knowledge and expertise in light of NedCar’s continuity. In addition, allocation is conducted according to the ‘first come, first served’ principle. The closing date for applications under the scheme is 30 November of the current year, or an earlier date at the company’s discretion. Until the end of November, when the total number of applications is known, it will not be possible to determine whether all compulsory redundancies can be ruled out in 2007.
For further information: Liz Tans, Manager Communications
Tel.: (+31) 46 4894557 or (+31) 6 5155 7740
or
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Background information
By offering these schemes, NedCar hopes to minimize the number of employees who are surplus to current staffing requirements, which is the result of DaimlerChrysler’s announcement on 25 March of this year that it would be ceasing production of the smart forfour models at NedCar. In addition, the management wishes to offer a solution to employees who are concerned about their personal future.
The available schemes are as follows:
either financial compensation for employees who voluntarily resign, or
an early retirement scheme for employees aged 58 or over,
and assistance in finding a new job through a number of ‘from work-to-work’ programmes.
With the foregoing, NedCar’s management is acting completely in line with the agreements reached in the settlement of 25 April 2006. These agreements also include the formation of a ‘Third Party Work’ project team, which is tasked with obtaining work from third parties as compensation for the loss of the smart forfour production.
If the available severance schemes plus the efforts of the Third Party Work project team fail to produce the desired results, this will be followed by restructuring in 2007 so as to achieve a lower cost level. This is necessary in order to operate on a break-even basis and to be considered for the successor to the current Colt model.
