Scania de São Bernardo will operate three days a week – 04/18/2023 – Market

Scania has informed its workers at the factory in São Bernardo do Campo, on the ABC Paulista, that it will make scheduled stops for two days a week, starting on the 28th. from July 10th.

According to the Swedish automaker, the measure is taken due to the slowdown in the truck market in Brazil and in other Latin American countries served by the plant in Greater São Paulo. Scania’s commercial operation and dealer network continue to operate normally.

Stoppages to adjust the production volume are ensured by the working hours flexibility agreement, negotiated by the ABC Metallurgical Union with the automaker’s management in 2013. Employees’ salaries are preserved.

The company, according to a statement, will not renew part of the temporary work contracts.

“Workers know the importance of this agreement, which ensures jobs and income. We have felt the effects of the absence of specific policies for the sector in recent years”, stated the vice-president of the union, Carlos Caramelo. For him, it is necessary to demand an industrial policy from the federal, state and municipal governments.

Scania has around 4,500 workers in São Bernardo, around 3,000 working in the industrial operation.

Speaking at the assembly of employees, Caramelo said that the lack of parts aggravated the bad moment of production, already affected by the anticipation of sales in 2022 to meet European standards on diesel engines, the Euro 6. Other problems, according to the director, are the lack of financing, the drop in consumption and the high interest rates in the country.

In criticism of the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, the director said that the interest rate at the current level of 13.75% per year makes financing more expensive, makes access to credit difficult and hinders investments in the country.

This year, car makers of the GM, Hyundai, Fiat and Jeep brands announced a reduction in production and collective vacations, in the midst of component supply problems.

The shortage stems from the global supply chain crisis, aggravated by the pandemic from 2020 onwards. The shortage of parts has led to dozens of pauses at automakers in the last two years, either through collective vacations, lay-offs (type of suspension employment contract) or paid leave.

In early March, Anfavea (National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers) assessed that the credit limitation could also hold back growth in 2023, alongside the supply of supplies.