Saab Autos can’t pay salaries to 3800 employees

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Swedish auto manufacturer Saab cannot pay its 3,800 workers their salaries for lack of "short-term financing," the Dutch parent company Swedish Auto-mobile, previous Spyker, said Thursday.

Saab, which has based its financing plan on binds in China, had declared on June 13 a partnership with two Chinese trades which was to create investment of 245 million euros ($350 million).

The two Chinese companies were car distributor Pang Da and maker Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile.

But manufacturing at the Saab factory at Trollhattan in western Sweden has been at a decline since June 8. On Monday, management told employees on the assembly lines that they should not come to work before July 4.

In the statement on Thursday, the parent firm said: "Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swedish Automobile, previously Spyker Cars N.V.) declares that Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) will not be able to give salaries to workers as it has not yet got the essential short-term financing."

Saab, which workers 3,800 people, was set aside at the last minute at the initiating of 2010 when it was acquired by small Dutch firm Spyker from US giant General Motors which sought to end its association in the wake of the financial difficulties.

Since then Spyker, which declared big objectives for Saab, has pitched from one cash crisis to another. A former deal with a Chinese firm fell through.

Its efforts to bind with Chinese companies are goal partly at accessing funding and partly at broadening access to the fast-mounting Chinese automobile market.