Sunsundegui staff unpaid
Unions represented by workers at the Sunsundegui plant – which has filed for financial protection with huge debts – have demonstrated at the town hall, saying they need their pay.
The on-line magazine Estella Digital reports that staff are becoming desperate for a solution, having not had their September salaries. The company has hit a cash flow crisis, though claims that its full order book for 2025 will carry it through. Already, a company dependent on the Sunsundegui business has laid off 33 staff.
Overdue supplier debt alone is reported to be 8.9m Euros, and 2024 would see just 13% of supplier bills paid. It says it needs until 2028 to trade out of its problems, some of which were caused by Volvo’s decision to pull out of a deal to have the 9900 and 9700 coach built in Alsasua. A further 40m Euros debt is believed to be owed to lenders.
UPDATE 28/10/2024
The ongoing investigation into the potential insolvency of Sunsundegui has led to the Partido Popular (People’s Party) accusing the regional government of hiding the facts.
According to local website Diario Navarra, the details of a commercial agreement between Volvo and Sunsundegui in October of last year, which covered production of 9700 and 9900, were released by the Navarra region’s business support arm, Sodeno, in December ‘23. But more recent documents have been redacted.
Minister, Mikel Irujo, defended the suppression by reading an email sent by the President of Volvo, Martin Lundstedt, which cautioned that the contract is commercially confidential.