In Benteler there is concern about the Moroccan plant, which could take the burden off Burgos

Benteler, a German multinational company specializing in providing services to customers in the fields of automotive technology, energy and mechanical engineering, will soon open a new plant in Kenitra (Morocco). This news, which is a priori irrelevant to Burgos’ interests, could mean a reduction in the workload at the Villalonquejar factory.

This is speculation at this point as management has not communicated anything to works council members, but sources within the organization who have been consulted in this way insist there are some “concerns”. Especially when the Galician newspaper Atlántico has already reported that with the opening of the Moroccan plant, the load on the Benteler plants in Vigo and Moz will decrease. Other sources note that with 430 permanent employees, the reduced workload could lead to a “drastic reduction in the workforce.”

Be that as it may, in the middle of next month, at follow-up meetings held regularly by management and employee representatives, they will present the possible consequences to multinational corporations. Benteler’s new plant in Kenitra, located in that city in Morocco as it already has the Stellatins (formerly PSA) car plant there, will also supply the same brand’s assembly plant in Vigo.

Meanwhile, the Villalonquejar properties continue to receive investments from the German multinational corporation of about 11 million per year. At the end of 2022, board president Alfonso Fernandez Manueco traveled to Burgos to inaugurate a state-of-the-art transfer press that provided an economic injection of $12 million.

The commissioning of this 3,200-tonne tool will enable the Burgos plant to continue to compete in the automotive market. Regarding the new printing press, the executive vice president of the Southern European region of the multinational corporation, Ricardo García from Burgos, assured in October 2022 that it will allow them to provide better services. They have been able to improve the durability of the steel they work with, reducing its thickness and therefore the weight and emissions of vehicles made from this material.

Hundreds of chassis and structural components for vehicles are shipped daily from the headquarters on Lopez Bravo. Benteler Burgos has a workforce of around 600 people after an employment decision was made at the beginning of last 2021 that led to the dismissal of fifty workers.