The Stellantis Figueruelas plant, located in the vicinity of Zaragoza, has restarted production lines after the summer break, but with a significant reduction in activity. As everyone knows by now, today’s automotive market is constantly evolving and characterized by a growing demand for electric vehicles. For these very reasons, the company has decided to focus production on three key models that would be Opel Corsa, Peugeot 208 and the new Lancia Ypsilon.
This commercial choice by the group therefore caused the discontinuation of production of cars such as Opel Crossland and Citroën C3 Aircross which consequently necessitated the cutting of 600 jobs. Currently, the plant manages to employ about 4,800 people. The major reduction in production, which is around 1,500 units per day (about 500 less than before the summer vacations ), is justified because of the downturn in automotive sales.
Stellantis clearly confirmed that the company’s intention is currently to focus Figueruelas’ activities on the production of electric vehicles, which would be perfectly in line with the group’s electrification strategy. The goal to be achieved would be to improve on the results achieved in 2022, when the plant managed to produce about 44,000 units.
Stellantis reorganization puts local economy at risk
Stellantis’ decision to completely reorganize production in Figueruelas mirrors the ongoing challenges that the global automotive industry is currently going through. With increasing demand for electric vehicles, economic uncertainties, and supply chain disruptions, all of this is pushing automakers to review their industrial plans and maximize resources while also creating some hardships.
As with Warren’s plant in America, the reduction of manufacturing activity in Figueruelas will cause major repercussions on employment and the local economy. Infact, this cutting job represent a significant loss for the area, which is now forced to go through a rather difficult period, namely that of transition to a more digitized world. Although the automotive group always acts with a view to improvement, the future of the Stellantis plant in Figueruelas remains closely linked to the evolution of the automotive market and the strategic choices the group will make in the future. The decision that Stellantis has made to focus practically all on electric for the Spanish plant could certainly bring great benefits to the company, or on the contrary generate further problems.