By Edward Taylor and Andreas Cremer
Volkswagen’s €5 billion ($6.68 billion) cost-savings plan hit a major setback after labor leaders forced management to axe McKinsey, the consultants working out the cuts, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
According to a report in Autocar, management and unions are coming up with ideas to make Ellesmere Port more competitive. Unions are said to be prepared to offer more flexible working practices and complex shift patterns to make the plant lower-cost. However, it is hard to believe there is a lot of slack in the system now. Ellesmere Port is already probably the most productive plant General Motors has in Western Europe, so its scope to pull further ahead of other Vauxhall/Opel factories may be limited.
