Next week marks two years since the definitive closure of the Nissan plant in the Free Zone of Barcelona. The shutdown ends decades of Catalan and Spanish motorsport history and leaves 2,525 workers unemployed. Half are approaching retirement, while the other half joined a reindustrialization project that has still not begun two years later.
The final decision by Chinese automaker Chery will determine whether large scale car assembly continues in the Free Trade Zone or whether its electromobility hub project stalls before it can start. Negotiating parties have described the situation as close to a decision, yet no official conclusion has been issued.
Time is critical. Workers who cannot find new jobs while awaiting reindustrialization face the risk that their final unemployment benefits expire by December 31. Of the 1,300 former employees who remained active after Nissan closed, only 200 have been placed in reindustrialization projects. The rest are either drawing unemployment benefits or seeking other employment on their own while they wait.
Sources interviewed indicate that the chances of the Chinese interest materializing before year end are slim, though opinions mix with cautious optimism. Talks continue over D-Hub, the entity responsible for reindustrialization, and the agreement on Chery’s fit for the future of the Free Trade Zone.
The order to shut Nissan came from Asia, and hopes of producing automobiles again also originate there. There have been disappointments in Asia in Nissan’s search for a successor. We took a hit from Great Wall Motors, recalls Michael Ruiz, secretary general of SIGEM-SIR USOC. Concerns are shared by delegates from UGT and CCOO. Initially, administrations and unions pinned their hopes on the Chinese maker, one of the most significant players in its home market, aiming to reach the European market.
But that interest did not materialize, leading to the emergence of D-Hub, a project devised by two Catalan consultancies that, following a deal with real estate investor Goodman, found its home on the former Nissan site. D-Hub executives are now pursuing an agreement with Chery to produce vehicles and turn the Free Zone into a gateway to Europe. Precedents are not encouraging; Chery had once threatened to settle in Catalonia a decade ago, including during a visit by then president José Montilla to China. Talks then failed to yield a deal.
Management is taking action
The new minister of Trade and Labor has stepped in. He traveled to China and held a mid October meeting with Chery leaders to expedite a landing in Barcelona. For the Generalitat of Catalonia, it is a priority to resolve this issue after backing D-Hub as the reindustrialization engine for the Free Trade Zone and supporting them with various forms of financial aid. The company secretary has been focused on this issue and the labor portfolio for months, while education-related support was brokered by the Treball ministry.
The government aims to attract Chery and is working to cement a long term project. It is exploring models that would deepen the relationship between the Chinese firm and D-Hub beyond a one off vehicle factory. Recent changes at the Ministry of Industry following early elections have made progress slower, yet Chery has also looked to Barcelona’s new minister and former mayor, Jordi Hereu, as a potential interlocutor who could negotiate favorable conditions that position the city as a pioneer in the European market.
Meeting with Hereu
This week Chery’s vice president met with Hereu in Madrid to discuss the issue, according to the minister’s team. They refuse to disclose details of the discussion or identify who from D-Hub attended the session. They emphasize that progress is being made and that negotiations are moving forward. Industry observers expect new incentive calls through PERTE in the first quarter of 2024.
On February 1, D-Hub has pledged to employ 606 former Nissan workers, including 330 in dual vocational training and 276 in CONFORCAT programs, under training contracts with a gross salary of 1,575 euros, roughly the maximum unemployment benefit. The terms are clearly lower than those from two years ago, but they are temporary. By October, the contracts are expected to improve, with a potential Plus 20 percent in the metal sector. For these 660 former employees to justify their salaries, there must be industrial orders that Chery has signaled it intends to place.
Citizens and workers watch closely as the talks unfold, hoping for a stable pathway from D-Hub and Chery that would anchor Barcelona as a European gateway for manufacturing and jobs. The path forward remains nuanced and contingent on orders, incentives, and the political will to sustain a long term plan that can weather market shifts and regulatory changes. Attribution: government briefings and industry statements from the period covered in local negotiations.