The Catalan employers’ association Foment del Treball came out this Sunday in defense of “the management and workers” of Seat, whose future is at stake due to the restructuring plans of the Volkswagen group – parent company of the Catalan automaker — which include eliminating 50,000 jobs (in addition to another 50,000 cut by 2024). “Seat’s relationship with Catalonia is not only historical but also a reference and full of future potential. The Seat brand is part of our industrial heritage. And Seat S.A., Martorell, and its capacity to manufacture vehicles must continue to be part of Catalonia’s industrial future,” said the organization chaired by Josep Sánchez Llibre in a statement.
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Until this Sunday, Catalan businesspeople had remained cautious about reports suggesting that Volkswagen’s plans could mean the end of the Seat brand. In the group’s top-level meeting last Friday, that option was not explicitly stated, but the brand’s future was left uncertain beyond 2030. Moreover, the brand has no plans to develop electric cars or new models scheduled. Faced with this uncertainty, the employers’ association waited until this Sunday to issue its statement. And it does so in a measured way.
Foment first “values” the “message of confidence” that, in its view, Seat’s president, Markus Haupt, and Volkswagen’s president, Oliver Blume, have conveyed about “the company’s future and its industrial capacity,” while supporting the chairman of the works council, Matías Carnero, for coming out “in defense of a solid industrial future and quality employment.” Furthermore, Foment distinguishes the brand’s future itself from the “commercial future” of the industrial company. “Beyond the evolution the brand may have, what must be absolutely guaranteed is the industrial future of Seat S.A., Martorell, and all its plants in Catalonia,” the statement indicates.
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The note, however, also reflects the business community’s concern about the progressive loss of prominence of the motor sector in Catalonia, after losing production centers such as Nissan, Yamaha, Derbi, or Pirelli. However, Seat would be a very hard blow due to its “strategic” nature and its size. Foment recalls that not only are 13,000 direct jobs at stake, but also an “extensive network of suppliers, auxiliary companies, and indirect jobs linked to its activity.” “Its size therefore far exceeds the limits of the company itself and constitutes one of the main pillars of Catalan and Spanish industry,” the statement notes. “For Foment, any strategic transformation of the Volkswagen Group must aim to strengthen Seat S.A.’s industrial role within the group and preserve its capacity to generate employment, investment, innovation, and economic activity in Catalonia,” the employers’ association continues.
Given the investments historically made by the automaker – often encouraged by public funds — Foment believes the company must maintain its activity in Martorell. “Foment del Treball will stand by Seat S.A., its management, and its workers in defending this industrial project. Catalonia must continue manufacturing automobiles, incorporating new models and new technologies, and generating quality industrial employment,” the note concludes.
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