(Bloomberg) -- Stellantis NV is ending production at its Aspern plant in Vienna after 40 years, laying off about 300 workers.
A shift to electric vehicles no longer offers a sustainable future for the plant, which has been making mechanical gearboxes in recent years, the company said Wednesday. Stellantis is in discussions with worker unions and Austria’s state property manager, which owns the land hosting the plant, it said.
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Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares has been on a drive to boost efficiency at the conglomerate spanning 14 brands. It cut about 10% of the workforce in neighboring Slovakia and has laid off thousands in Italy.
The plant on the north-eastern outskirts of Vienna was opened in 1982 as part of efforts by Socialist Chancellor Bruno Kreisky to boost car production. Vehicle manufacturing in Austria has been under pressure from lower labor costs to the country’s east following the fall of communism.
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