Unions and auto industry groups warn of job losses if Seat brand disappears

Catalonia’s unions and automotive employers have moved from calls for calm to openly closing ranks around Seat. They are urging Volkswagen to reconsider plans that could put the historic brand’s survival beyond 2030 in doubt.

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common front

UGT and CC OO called on Monday for a “common front” to defend the brand. Metalworking and automotive organizations in Catalonia joined them, warning that its disappearance could have a major impact on employment. Seat currently employs 13,000 people in Martorell, Barcelona.

The company’s importance extends beyond its direct workforce. Seat is considered strategic to the Catalan economy and supports dozens of auxiliary businesses connected to the Martorell factory. That concern has sharpened after other automotive companies, including Nissan, Derbi, Pirelli and Yamaha, closed workplaces in Catalonia during previous crises.

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has always contributed

The metalworking association UPM, automotive distributors’ group Fecavem and the Gremio del Motor asked Volkswagen to reconsider the idea of ending Seat. UPM president Jaume Roura said the brand had “put Spain on wheels with the 600” and warned that its disappearance would affect the brand, the wider industry, the consumer market and the supplier network serving Martorell.

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put Spain on wheels with the 600

The groups also stressed that the Seat brand is not the same as the Martorell factory, which produces other models, including Cupra vehicles that have overshadowed the historic Catalan marque. UGT had previously said Martorell could benefit from plant closures in Germany, but the unions now describe eliminating Seat as “a risk to employment.”

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a risk to employment