Suzuki Gijon closing

[noworries]

Suzuki has announced this week that it is closing the Gijon - Spain - motorcycle factory.

[noworries]

Story:
http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/21947/suzuki-announces-closure-of-gijn-plant

Photomontage here:
http://www.elcomercio.es/multimedia/fotos/ultimos/109440-repaso-historia-suzuki-gijon-0.html

[BockinBboy]

Wow... what does this mean for Suzuki in general? They aren't just motorcycles... and not all of their motorcycles are produced in Gijon.

- Bboy

[mister]

Um, it means this....

"Suzuki will maintain a presence in Spain to handle the distribution of high-powered motorcycles manufactured in Southeast Asia."

"The plant produces the Burgman 125, 150 and 200 cc  models ... the new model that was to have been made in Gijón was given to a plant in Thailand instead."

Nothing more than Suzuki getting its bikes made elsewhere where it is cheaper - Thailand. They already have a plant in India too.

No new news for Spain either as they had already closed around 14 motorcycle manufacturing plants in the last few years. This is just another one.

Sounds to me like the last of the stock the plant had made and was warehousing must have been moved out the door, so nothing left in the plant to hold Suzuki to ransom over. So close the plant.

Michael

[BockinBboy]

I certainly wasn't implying anything catastrophic for the company... Just getting at what you highlighted I suppose. I just didn't read into the wording of it, so thanks for the translation    Cut their losses by cutting their 'least profiting' plant, and move on before it 'cuts' them too deep.

- Bboy

[The Buddha]

Now if only we can find the Fool that designed the Gheydiyius and threaten suzuki with forcing him to work on designing a bike @ suzuki unless they make the GS500 a water cooled FI'ed parallel twin with modern mechanicals and the same old everything else ... yea yea belt drive, katana FE, wider rear tar etc etc all included ... we'd be set.

Cool.
Buddha.

[jestercinti]

It seems that a lot of motorcycles are made in Thailand now.  Take for instance (to name a few):

Honda CBR250R
Kawasaki Ninja 250/300
Kawasaki KLR650, KLX250

[noworries]

Gijon has the GS500 on its production line alongside the scooter models.

[The Buddha]

Gijon has the GS500 on its production line alongside the scooter models.

Since they stopped it .. .and didn't give us a 4 valve water cooled fuel injected twin front disk belt drive GS500 with 15" rear tar and a 17" front in naked config all for cheaper than the current plastic wrapped GSXR wannabe GS500 I wont walk over there to spit ...

Like I ever buy anything from a dealer anyway ... OK OK I buys me the jets.

I still say we are a damn fine collective of suzuki owners, one the company should have infiltrated a long time ago and got all these design idea's for free as opposed to the Idiots they paid to design the Gheydieus ... And we have been on the interwebz since 1996 as a mailing list then as the old forum and then since 2003 as this one ... I cant imagine what world they are in.

Cool.
Buddha.

[noworries]

Yeh, Bud, don't know that much but the trend of the Suzuki criticism seems to suggest that the top-end of the company is stullified and set in peculiar old-fashioned ways.

[noworries]

Few bits of gossip and news filtering out onto the Spanish press now regarding the Gijon Suzuki factory closure scheduled for March 2013. The electric scooter company ABAT (Chinese/US?) are alleged to have looked the Spanish plant over for purchase earlier this year but they didn't go ahead.  Suzuki are reported as now being prepared to let Gijon go to a suitable purchaser for 1 Euro. Sale of the  factory as an ongoing business reduces employee linked redundancy liabilities. Press report that the Gijon motorcycle production "slack" is to be taken up by Suzuki Thailand. The Gijon plant is said to be churning out heaps of spares to cover any hiatus in scooter production. The workers in Gijon are throwing a general strike next Wednesday.

[adidasguy]

Dang - if only it were closer to West Seattle. I's give 2 euros - maybe even 3 or 4!
I would be the ultimate parts whore!

[bryan88]

Interesting, apparently they are also closing down their car division in the US.

[jestercinti]

From July of this year:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/06/21/ten-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2013/

[iclrag]

Meh, i never believe fox news they are too biased

[noworries]

Some bits and industrial pieces out of Spain and the Suzuki closedown. Been a few little strikes in Gijon in protest, some reports of a South American outfit maybe interested in buying plant, workers being managed to produce backload of spares for the scooter products, workers requesting that plant be closed next month (rather than March 13) so as to maximise their redundancy benefits, comments that Gijon Suzuki workers get E1500 a month or so while the guys working in Thailand (where the slack production is going) will be on about E300 a month. Lots of reminescing about the glory days of Spanish motorbikes ...Bultaco and the like. And, overall, the locals are real *issed with Suzuki, the TU officials and the regional government.