Economic affairs minister Maxime Verhagen is hunting for potential buyers to take over the Nedcar car-making plant in Limburg, following the news Mitsubishi is to stop production next year.

A spokeswoman for the company in Tokyo blamed the ‘difficult business climate’ for the decision to stop manufacturing in Europe, news agency ANP said. Nedcar is the biggest car-making plant in the country and currently produces the Mitsubishi Colt.
Jobs
MPs have called for ‘maximum government involvement’ in keeping the Limburg-based operation open.
Verhagen says the Japanese car firm has put the plant up for sale for a token price of €1, if the buyer takes over all staff. That should happen within a year, Nos television quotes the minister as saying.
The minister said he is also lobbying for a good social plan for the 1,500-strong workforce, in case a buyer is not found.
Anger
Meanwhile, Henk van Rees from the manufacturing union FNV Bondgenoten, told Nos talks are underway with potential new owners. ‘This is a modern, up-to-date factory. A new owner can walk in and start up,’ he said. ‘Trouble is, who would want to do this at this difficult economic time?’
Workers at the Born-based plant reacted angrily to news that Mitusbishi is pulling out of production in Europe. According to the Volkskrant, on Monday afternoon, some workers removed the keys from all the cars at the plant and blocked exits. There is also talk of industrial action.
Suat Koetloe of manufacturing union De Unie said the decision to close is a ‘horror scenario’. ‘This is a slap in the face for all the 1,500 workers who work in Born,’ he said.
Modern
The future of the Born operation has been in doubt for several years. Last year, management called for a pay cut of between 2% and 5% to keep the factory profitable.
‘We have done everything to make this the best factory within the Mitsubishi concern,’ plant director Joost Govaarts is quoted by the paper as saying.
A spokesman for Sittard-Geleen local council said the closure would also lead to the loss of hundreds of indirect jobs. However, the last reduction in employment levels at the plant five years ago means many suppliers are no longer reliant on Nedcar alone, a spokesman told the paper.