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VOLVO CARS

Geely withdraws reported offer for Volvo

Chinese automaker Geely, which had previously indicated its intentions to own 100 percent of Volvo Cars, has scrapped plans to put together a bid for Ford’s troubled Swedish subsidiary.

Published: 16 September 2009 07:51 CEST
Geely withdraws reported offer for Volvo

Officials from Ford informed management of Volvo Cars that Geely no longer intends to prepare an offer to buy Volvo, the Dagens Industri (DI) newspaper reports.

“They explained over the weekend that they have never made such a statement,” Volvo CEO Stephen Odell told the newspaper.

Looking back, there were a number of peculiarities related to the continued back and forth about the alleged offer.

On the one hand, Geely CEO Gui Sheng Yue spoke on behalf of the entire Geely Group, but according to DI, he is only in charge of the Geely Automobile subsidiary.

In addition, he never admitted to being a part of the process or of having ever visited Sweden or Volvo.

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BUSINESS

France slams Ford’s ‘shameful’ move to shut Bordeaux car plant

The French government on Tuesday denounced a decision by US automaker Ford to shutter a plant making gear boxes near Bordeaux, after the company rejected a takeover bid that could have saved some of the 800 jobs at the site.

Published: 27 February 2019 10:01 CET
France slams Ford's 'shameful' move to shut Bordeaux car plant
Photo: AFP

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux accused Ford executives of taking a “shameful attitude” in refusing a final offer from Franco-Belgian equipment manufacturer Punch Powerglide on Monday.

French officials had hailed the improved bid lodged by the Strasbourg-based Punch-Powerglide last week, which could have allowed around half the employees to keep their jobs.

In return unions had agreed to a pay freeze and more flexible working hours. “We will make them (Ford) pay for the laid-off employees, for the clean-up of the site, and for new industrialisation efforts for the region,” Griveaux told France Info radio.

But he said the government would not try to claw back some 15 million euros ($17 million) in state aid received by Ford in recent years, as sought by Philippe Poutou, a trade union official at the site who ran for president against Emmanuel Macron in 2017.

“I understand Mr Poutou's anger… but in a state governed by the rule of law, you cannot demand that this aid be repaid,” he said.

He also ruled out nationalising the site, saying the best way forward was “to find ways to diversify the industrial activities” at the Blanquefort site in southwest France.

Ford, which announced the closure nearly a year ago, had said it did not consider Punch Powerglide's plan convincing, and unions themselves had noted the offer was not accompanied by guarantees of sufficient client orders to sustain the site over the long term. 

“We are aware of the consequences this decision to halt production will have on our workers, their families and the local community,” Ford said Monday.

It said it would help laid off workers retrain to find new jobs, without providing details on how much it would spend on severance and other measures.

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