Mitsubishi Motors would sell its sole European plant to a Dutch industrial group for one euro in a deal that calls on the buyer to keep 1,500 jobs at the facility. In a statement Wednesday, the Japanese firm said it would sell Netherlands Car BV, or NedCar, to VDL Groep, which makes buses and a range of industrial products, for a token one euro ($1.20) in exchange for keeping the plant running. Mitsubishi said it expected to book a 28 billion yen ($352 million)loss on the plant to be included in its current fiscal year earnings through March 2013.
Mitsubishi Motors produces the Colt subcompact and the Outlander sports utility models at the unit, which used to be a joint venture with Sweden’s Volvo. Output at NedCar, which was established in 1991, has remained sharply below its annual production capacity of 200,000 units, contributing to Mitsubishi’s operating loss in Europe. Production was 40,739 units in 2011, according to the automaker. A total of 1.1 million vehicles have since rolled out of NedCar’s plant in Born, Limburg, Netherlands.
Mitsubishi wants to avoid a situation where the workers would lose their jobs after they cease production. Mitsubishi announced in February it was planning to halt production at the plant in Born by the end of this year. Soon afterwards, workers staged a one-day strike at the plant, located about 180 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, with labor unions demanding that Mitsubishi work with the Dutch government to find a buyer
