(May 17, 2012) LONDON — General Motors's European unit, Opel/Vauxhall, will build the next-generation Astra compact in Britain and Poland starting in 2015 after workers at its factory in Ellesmere Port, northwest England, overwhelmingly agreed to a new labor deal, leaving Opel's plant in Bochum, Germany, in danger of closure.

Opel/Vauxhall said it would invest 300 million euros ($381 million) in both plants, where assembly of the new Astra will start in 2015.

"It's almost certain that one of GM's German plants will now be closed, probably the plant in Bochum," a source close to the negotiations said.

GM confirmed today that it will halt production of the current Astra, its second-best selling model after the Corsa subcompact, at its Ruesselsheim plant, near Frankfurt, at the end of the car's life cycle, which would be around 2014 to 2015.

A company spokesman said Opel did not mention the fate of Astra production in Bochum today because that plant makes an old generation of the car. Today's news focuses on which of the plants making the current Astra will get the next generation in three years.

The loss of Astra production is a major blow to Ruesselsheim, where Opel is based, possibly threatening the plant's future, however the source added that some production of GM's Chevrolet brand could be shifted from Asia to Europe, with Ruesselsheim the likely beneficiary.

Opel said capacity at the plant near Frankfurt will continue to be "fully utilized."
This would leave the Opel factory in Bochum as the most likely site to be closed. The Opel spokesman added that Bochum is protected until 2014 by a labor agreement between the company and its unions.

The UK deal means an extra third production shift will be added at the Vauxhall factory to ensure 24-hour-a-day operation, as well as the introduction of weekend work to guarantee the factory works at full capacity.

Source: Reuters, Bloomberg