Comrades, Come Rally: While PSA And GM Snuggle Closer, Workers Of PSA And Opel Unite

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

PSA and GM look at expanding their alliance. Unions are not sitting still either. Workers of PSA and GM look at forming their own strategic alliance.

PSA and GM plan to intensify their alliance, PSA told Reuters. In addition to previously announced plans, the two may share larger vehicles, dual-clutch transmissions and a small car for emerging markets Peugeot says. Ominously, plans to assemble a new compact vehicle at Peugeot’s Madrid plant have been ditched. GM has not announced yet that the car will be built at one of its plants.

All this triggered a backlash at the unions. Labor leaders of Opel-Vauxhall and PSA will enter talks to form a strategic alliance, designed as a counterweight to plans by GM and PSA. Instead of playing workers against each other, PSA and GM could be faced by a united front.

“Spain is the one country where the competition will likely be the worst, since there are two PSA plants and one Opel plant that can be played off against one another,” Wolf Jaecklein of the European Metalworkers Federation (EMF) told Reuters. Jaecklein continued:

“The current strategy of both carmakers is to play their own respective plants off against one other. By creating this alliance, however, they can increase the size of the pitch and expand the competition to include all production sites. We therefore need to expand our approach beyond the individual companies and jointly defend against this tactic, that’s the key.”

Maybe they should seek advice from their union brothers at the UAW. On second thought, they might not. The union-busting strategy is said to be a brainchild of Stephen Girsky, UAW representative on GM’s board. Girsky has been dispatched to Europe as GM’s designated union-hitter. Come to think of it, the UAW shouldn’t count too much on IG Metall support either.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Slavuta Inflation creation act... 2 thoughts1, Are you saying Biden admin goes on the Trump's MAGA program?2, Protectionism rephrased: "Act incentivizes automakers to source materials from free-trade-compliant countries and build EVs in North America"Question: can non-free-trade country be a member of WTO?
  • EBFlex China can F right off.
  • MrIcky And tbh, this is why I don't mind a little subsidization of our battery industry. If the American or at least free trade companies don't get some sort of good start, they'll never be able to float long enough to become competitive.
  • SCE to AUX Does the WTO have any teeth? Seems like countries just flail it at each other like a soft rubber stick for internal political purposes.
  • Peter You know we’ve entered the age of self driving vehicles When KIAs go from being stolen to rolling away by themselves.
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