
A historic car parts factory in eastern Vienna is set to close this week, ORF reports.
The remaining 150 employees at the Stellantis plant in Aspern, in Vienna’s 22nd district, will stop making manual six-speed gearboxes on Friday. This marks the end of an era for a facility that began operations in 1982 and employed nearly 2,800 people at its peak in the 1990s.
Originally owned by US giant General Motors, the plant was part of Chancellor Bruno Kreisky’s efforts to revive auto manufacturing in Austria after the difficult years following World War II.
Now operated by the international automotive group Stellantis – which owns car brands including Opel, Citroën, Peugeot, and Fiat – the plant has been cutting its workforce for years. Stellantis announced the upcoming closure last year.
Employee Christoph Rohm described the prevailing mood to ORF: “Wistful, partly angry at the company. Because the work we have done here has not been honoured in the way we would have liked. Of course, we would have liked the company to continue operating.”
“Demand is moving towards automatic transmissions, demand is moving towards electromobility. This means that fewer manual gearboxes, such as those produced here at the site, are needed,” explained Stellantis Austria spokesperson Christoph Stummvoll.
A job centre and employment foundation have been set up for the employees. “In the job centre, we have job offers from around 150 companies and we have already been able to place around half of the employees in new jobs,” said Stummvoll.
The future of the plant remains uncertain. The property is owned by the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG). According to city officials, the area is designated as a ‘red zone’, meaning it will remain an industrial area.