Feb 07, 2012 01:26 AM EST
Mitsubishi Will Accept One Euro for Its Netherlands Factory

Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko is willing to sell its Netherlands factory, which is the company's only remaining factory in Wstern Eruope, for only one euro, according to a company spokesman.

The statement came after the automakre's decision of stopping its operation of Netherlands-based factory, known as NedCar, by the end of this year, stating that continuing production at NedCar would not be economically feasible.

"Due to the wildly fluctuating operating environment which automobile manufacturers currently face, [Mitsubishi] could not come up with a reasonable solution to utilise NedCar among [its] global production operation structure and thus ... has concluded it is not viable to allocate a new production model at NedCar," wrote the Japanese automaker.

Approximately 1,500 workers are employeed at the factory, and Masuko has reportedly said that anyone can have the factory for one euro, as long as the workers could keep their jobs.

"If the payroll of about 1,500 factory workers can be maintained, we may see the assets for one euro."

The FNV Bongenoten union spoesman Henk van Rees said, "In this region, where there is high unemployment, it will be extremely difficult for employees to find other jobs."

NedCar started in 1991 as a three-way venture along with Swedish Volvo and the Dutch government. By 2011, Mitsubishi took the sore ownership after buying out its parents. The factory had been producing the Colt subcompact and the Outlander sport utility.

Mitsubishi's sale in Europe hit 340,000 vehicles in 2007/8, but it dropped to 218,000 last year, as Reuters reports.

Although the Japense company will still try to keep its market in Europe by shipping vehicles produced from other countries, the automaker will be focuing on emerging markets in Asia, building its first factory in Thailand next month.

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