Symposium on Mitsubishi Motors restructuring plan

Concerned about the consequences of the corporate restructuring which includes a plant closing, 130 workers of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and people from business organizations and local government on June 17 held a symposium in Nagoya City to discuss problems arising from the MMC restructuring plan.

MMC in July 2000 reached a capital tie-up agreement with DaimlerChrysler AG and received three members from DaimlerChrysler as MMC's board of directors.

The MMC plan is to reduce 9,500 personnel and close the Oe Plant, an assembly line in Nagoya City, in September. Already many Oe Plant's workers have been transferred to outsourcing firms.

Yasui Gunji, an Oe Plant worker, said, "They are distressed with new jobs assigned and deteriorating human relations."

Oki Kazunori, professor at Nihon Fukushi University, argued that MMC's business strategy does not consider the damage which the local economy will suffer by the factory closure.

Participants said that what Carlos Ghosn from Renault is doing at Nissan is in Renault's interests. "The same may happen in Mitsubishi as well," they worried. (end)