BARCELONA – Car manufacturing giant Seat plans to make 415 workers redundant, union sources said Friday.

The job losses would come from the at the company’s Martorell factory.

Seat, which is owned by Volkwagen, is one of Catalonia’s major employers.

The company has informed the regional Catalonian government which, in the past, has been involved in ensuring jobs stay in the region.

The move came as workers staged 24-hour strike Friday in order to try and force the company to speed up collective bargaining talks.

Matías Carnero, president of Seat’s workers’ association, said the move was a ‘provocation on behalf of the company that the workers did not plan to get involved in’.

He expressed his willingness to continue negotiating workers’ labour conditions.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news