RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Chinese carmaker Great Wall intends to be bigger than Mercedes-Benz ever was in Iracemápolis: on Wednesday, August 18, it pledged to create more jobs than the German automaker in the city.
By means of a note the Chinese assembler – which purchased the plant that belonged to Mercedes in São Paulo’s interior – announced its intention to create 2,000 jobs.
However, this does not mean that workers laid off by the German carmaker are guaranteed a job. Great Wall’s note made it clear that the deal, whose value has not been disclosed, includes land, facilities and equipment of the plant built 5 years ago. But “it does not involve the transfer of employees.”
The automaker did not disclose the investment intended to be made in Brazil. But it highlighted the plan to make the unit an “intelligent production base of cars for urban centers,” which includes supplying other markets in the region from the plant in Iracemápolis. The planned annual production volume is 100,000 vehicles
The Chinese group also pledged to establish a research and product development center in Brazil, as well as a “transforming and updating of the local industrial structure, contributing with more profits and taxes to the Brazilian government.” The plant is expected to be delivered by the end of this year.