The automaker Caoa Chery informed the Metalworkers Union of São José dos Campos e Região, this Thursday (5), that it will close the Jacareí factory and lay off about 480 workers. According to the union, the decision took metalworkers by surprise.
In a meeting with the union, on Thursday, the direction of Caoa Chery informed that one model will be discontinued, and two models will be imported from China. With this, the company intends to end all production in Jacareí (SP). The factory said that the unit will undergo a modernization for the production of electric cars, which would only begin in 2025.
In a statement, the automaker informed that it is attentive to global demands regarding sustainable mobility and is committed to Brazil and its consumers to electrify all models in its portfolio by the end of 2023. With this, it begins a major remodeling process. of its factory in Jacareí, in the interior of São Paulo.
“This is the first time that the factory, which opened in 2015, will undergo such an upgrade. Located in a strategic point in São Paulo, with easy access to the country’s main highways, the factory will undergo changes to adapt the production processes that will allow the introduction of new products designed from state-of-the-art platforms, equipped with hybrid or 100% electric”.
The adaptation of the Jacareí unit will have as a parameter the production processes already adopted at the Caoa Montadora factory, located in Anápolis (GO), informed the automaker. “For the changes to take place effectively, Caoa Chery informs the temporary stoppage of the factory in Jacareí (SP). The suspension of activities aims to adjust the plant’s production processes to new models with hybrid and electric technologies, aiming at the modernization and updating of production lines.”
Regarding the employees of the Jacareí plant, the company informed that it is negotiating with representatives of the Metalworkers Union of São José dos Campos and region for the definition of a supplementary compensation package, “in addition to the regular payment of legal severance pay. , following its commitment to respect the workers”, the note said.
According to the union, with the decision, all 370 metallurgists in the Jacareí production would be fired. The company also informed that it intends to dismiss more than half of the administrative employees, a sector that currently has 230 workers at the plant. The rest of the staff would be reassigned to other units of the automaker.
The Chery factory was opened in Jacareí on August 28, 2014. In 2017, half of the Chinese automaker’s operation in Brazil was purchased by Grupo Caoa.
workers’ assembly
In an assembly on the morning of this Friday (6), the metallurgists of Caoa Chery in Jacareí approved the beginning of a campaign against the closing of the factory and for the maintenance of jobs. As part of the campaign, workers approved the proposal to open layoff as of June for all the automaker’s employees.
The proposal was presented by the Metalworkers Union of São José dos Campos and Region. A political campaign was also approved, demanding measures from the government to prevent the closing of the factory and preserve jobs at the Jacareí plant.
At the same meeting, the proposal presented by the company for the dismissal of workers and payment of three nominal wages as compensation was unanimously rejected. The result will be taken by the union to the automaker, in a new meeting scheduled for Tuesday (10).
In the negotiation that took place yesterday morning (5th) with the management of Caoa Chery, the union proposed the layoff (contract suspension) of five months from June 1st, with another three months of stability for all workers, guaranteeing jobs until January.
“The program would be an alternative to avoid the mass layoffs announced by the company, with the closing of the factory in Jacareí”, according to the note sent by the union.
march
Shortly after this Friday’s assembly, about 400 workers marched to the city hall of Jacareí. Together with the union, they demand from Mayor Izaias Santana (PSDB) and the City Council the proposal and approval of a bill that prohibits the closure of the factory. A meeting with the mayor was scheduled for today (6), at 15:00.
As part of the campaign to preserve jobs and maintain the factory in the city, workers are starting a camp today in front of the automaker.
“We are not going to allow Caoa Chery, which was largely privileged with tax benefits, to simply lay off the workers and close the factory in the city. We are going to carry out a major campaign against this total disrespect for workers and the population of Jacareí, which will certainly suffer a strong impact with this measure. Just as we did at Avibras, where we managed to reverse the 420 layoffs, we are going to fight with all our might in defense of jobs at Caoa Chery”, said the president of the Union, Weller Gonçalves.
