PSA Peugeot-Citroën has presented details of a temporary downsizing plan for its Villaverde site in Madrid (Spain), reports Cinco Dias. The company said in a statement that around 30 days of temporary lay-offs had been earmarked under the Spanish government's ERTE scheme between 15 September 2015 and 31 December 2016. The company said in a statement that the changes in demand meant that continued adjustments would need to be made to production in order for it to have the necessary stocks. The company added that it has already reached a deal with unions on the cutbacks which would protect workers on partial retirement schemes and aim to give further training to staff.
Significance: The arrangement of the temporary lay-off days comes not long after the company announced that demand was better than expected for the Citroën C4 Cactus; it had already warned of such a move. However, having already undertaken a successful turnaround in fortunes in recent times, PSA is likely to be keen to stay on the right track through using all mechanisms available to ensure the flexibility of its production footprint, as is likely to be the case here. While IHS Automotive expects production to hit 87,000 units here during 2015, it is expected to slide back in 2016 to 79,000 units before falling to 66,500 units during 2017.
