Volkswagen’s AutoEuropa plant in Portugal will resume limited production in early October, earlier than scheduled, after closing on September 12 due to a shortage of auto parts, according to a letter to workers seen by Reuters.
Autoeuropa, which mainly produces the T-Roc compact model, announced a nine-week closure between September 11 and November 12, after its Slovenian supplier was hit by floods.
The company told workers that the plant “will resume production at the beginning of October,” adding that current sub-suppliers in the Volkswagen Group’s portfolio, including a Chinese company and a Spanish company, would make up part of regular supplies.
Initially, the number of shifts will be fewer than the regular schedule and laid-off workers will be informed of the exact date they will return to work.
The AutoEuropa plant, located outside Lisbon, is one of the country’s major exporters and, according to its website, had nearly 5,000 workers in 2022, a year in which it produced 231,100 cars. (Reporting by Patricia Vicente Roa; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Jane Merriman)
