Caoa Chery will end its activities in Jacareí (80 km from SP) and should leave at least 600 employees unemployed, according to the Metalworkers Union of São José dos Campos e Região, which informs that the announcement was made this Thursday (5 ).
The closure of activities is being discussed between the union and the company. The entity tries to negotiate with the company in order to minimize the impact of layoffs in the region. Opened in 2015, Cherry’s factory in Jacareí was the automaker’s first outside China and produces the Tiggo 3x and Arrizo 6 Pro vehicles.
In a statement, Chery says that the unit will be remodeled. However, he confirms that there will be layoffs so that he can make the necessary readjustments. “Attentive to global demands regarding sustainable mobility, the automaker is committed to Brazil and its consumers to electrify all models in its portfolio by the end of 2023”, she says.
In addition to the Jacareí unit, Caoa has another factory, in Anápolis (GO), where Hyundai and Chery models are assembled. The purchase of 50.7% of Chery by Caoa was made in 2017, for US$ 2 billion at the time (about R$ 10.06 billion at the current price).
According to the company, production will be intensified in Anápolis. The production target of 60 thousand units this year is maintained. As for employees, the automaker confirms negotiations with the union and says it will pay severance pay and other legal charges.
“Regarding the employees of the Jacareí plant, Caoa Chery is negotiating with representatives of the Metalworkers’ Union of São José dos Campos e Região to define a supplementary compensation package, in addition to the regular payment of legal severance payments, following its commitment to respect the workers”, informs the note.
As for customers, Caoa informs that it will continue to “provide comprehensive service” to those who bought models manufactured in Jacareí, maintaining technical assistance, guarantees, parts and services in more than 140 dealerships in the country.
Pandemic affected vehicle production
The pandemic affected the production of automakers in Brazil, which have gradually recovered. In March of this year, Caoa Chery was one of those that placed part of the employees of the Jacareí factory on a lay-off regime (temporary interruption of employment contracts). In all, the measure reached 450 of the approximately 700 employees at the time.
According to industry data, sales of light and heavy vehicles in April showed signs of improvement with the sale of 147,256 units in the last month, up 0.3% compared to March, which had two more business days. The daily average of license plates increased from 6,991 to 7,750 units/day in the period.
automaker closing
In recent years, with the economic crisis, the closure of Ford units marked the end of an era of production. In 2019, the automaker announced the end of its activities at the São Bernardo do Campo (ABC) unit, ending an era of production in the region. A year later, it was the turn of Taubaté employees to receive the news of the end of activities and, in 2021, the automaker announced the end of its production in Brazil.
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