Western Europe risks losing manufacturing investment

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 30 Jun 2004 10:44
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One of the world’s largest car manufacturers General Motors, has warned that there is a risk of losing manufacturing investment in western Europe due to substantial labour and regulatory costs.

Vice chairman Bob Lutz, said that the Opel factories in Germany have the highest worldwide labour costs. In fact, results show that the average European only works three-quarters as many hours as an American. "You can maybe see the day where it is a poor use of investment dollars to manufacture in western Europe," he said.

However, the VDMA heavy engineering association believes that Germany continues to offer a high quality location and a strong industrial infrastructure along with a highly trained workforce. The VDMA also reported earlier this week that there had been a 23 per cent rise in orders in the sector in May in comparison with the same month the previous year.

 

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