VALMET AUTOMOTIVE announced last week it will start manufacturing sports cars for Mercedes-Benz in Uusikaupunki, Finland.
The Finnish contract automotive manufacturer will start manufacturing both the hybrid and combustion-engine versions of Mercedes-Benz AMG GT in 2023. The manufacturing contract, it highlighted, will see all four-door versions of the sports car manufactured at the assembly plant in Uusikaupunki.
The manufacturing will necessitate revisions to paint shop processes and the establishment of a dedicated assembly line for AMG GT – already the fourth model the company has manufactured for Mercedes-Benz.
Pasi Rannus, the director of manufacturing at Valmet Automotive, estimated that the contract is an “exceptionally convincing demonstration” of the company’s capabilities.
“With the AMG, we are making vehicles that require special skills and top-of-the-line quality,” he elaborated in a press release from Valmet Automotive. “And it’s great to be back manufacturing sports cars.”
The freshly inked contract is expected to guarantee employment to around 200 people in different functions of the assembly plant, according to Valmet Automotive. The manufacturing will not necessitate any new hirings, though, as the company plans to address any personnel needs with re-assignments.
The Finnish company announced earlier this summer it will lay off roughly 300 and furlough roughly 700 employees at the assembly plant, citing a decline in manufacturing volume linked to the expiry of another contract with Mercedes-Benz. The furloughed employees, it said, would be called back to work gradually during the course of next year as various other projects moved on to the manufacturing phase.
The company has increased its headcount significantly in recent years. Its assembly plant continues to employ around 2,000 people even after the recent round of cuts.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
