Caoa Chery confirms 485 layoffs and offers up to 15 additional salaries

With the Caoa Chery Group’s decision to fire 485 employees and keep the plant in Jacareí (SP) closed for three years, workers at the unit continue to organize protests to try to undo the measure. Yesterday, a group of them demonstrated in front of the Legislative Assembly in São Paulo (Alice), where a public hearing was being held to discuss deindustrialization in the state.

The Federation of Metal Workers of Sao Jose dos Campos e Reggiao announced last week that the company had agreed to implement a layoff program (temporary suspension of contracts) for five months and grant three more stabilization, but then it could have backed down and stayed. cuts.

In a memo, Caoa informed Chery that it did not accept contract suspensions because the legislation establishes the procedure when there is an expectation to resume production in the short term, which is not the case. According to the group, the intention is to keep the unit closed until 2025, during which time the plant will be ready to produce only hybrid and electric models.

In all, the Jacareí factory has 627 employees and only those in the administrative areas will be maintained. For those who will be laid off, the company offers an additional severance pay — there will be 15 paychecks for those who have worked with the company for more than five years, ten for those with two to five years and seven for those with up to two years out of contract.

In all offers, the maximum salary is R$5,000, meaning those who have worked for more than five years will receive an additional R$75,000.

without commitment

The union’s president, Wheeler Gonsalves, insists the company has backed down, and said he fears the plant will not resume operations within three years, he announced, as there is no formal commitment from the company.

According to the union member, at yesterday’s hearing, Representative Carlos Gianazzi (PSOL) said he will ask the São Paulo Audit Court for access to information on tax credits granted to companies that intend to leave the region. “The goal is to see how well these companies benefit from public money,” Gonsalves said.

He also reported that the Labor Relations Standing Committee would also be revitalized so that owners of Caoa Chery and other companies would be called in to provide clarifications to Alesp.

On Friday, an online hearing will be held between the Caoa union and the Jacareí District Public Labor Ministry.

In the assessment of Bright Consulting partner Cássio Pagliarini, the automaker does not usually need three years to adapt its product line, not even for completely new models, such as electric and hybrid cars.

Pagliarini also said that in cases where the company imports most components — as with Caoa Chery — the average turnaround time will be one year. “Usually the three-year period is what it takes to develop a vehicle, make tools for production, and get the assembly line ready,” says the consultant.

Production stopped

The Jacareí plant has been out of business since March, when production line employees took paid leave. The plant produced the now-discontinued Tiggo 3 and Arrizo 6 models, which will be imported from China.

The unit that opened in 2015 has the capacity to produce 50,000 vehicles per year in one shift, but the maximum reached so far was 14,000 units last year.

Initially, the factory was wholly owned by the Chinese Chery Group. Subsequently, half of the shares were sold to the Brazilian company Caoa, which also owns a plant in Anápolis (GO), where production of Chery and Hyundai models will be maintained. The group was created by Brazilian businessman Carlos Alberto de Oliveira Andrade, who died in August last year, at the age of 77.

hit the renault

Renault employees in São José dos Pinhais (PR) are entering today their 13th strike day due to the value of the Profit Sharing Program (PPR). Yesterday afternoon, a new meeting with company representatives has been scheduled and a possible proposal will be presented at the meeting scheduled for this afternoon.

At the beginning of the week, the Union of Metalworkers of Greater Curitiba proposed paying at least R$22.3 thousand in PPR to each employee.

Renault said it would accept the figure as long as it was tied to a target of 198,500 cars this year. However, the union does not accept the requirement, claiming, for example, that the difficulty of importing semiconductors – which has led to many factories stopping production – may hinder the goal.

In the complex, Kwid, Sandero, Logan, Stepway, Duster, Captur, Oroch, Master models and engines are manufactured.