WARSAW, Poland - The production line of the Warsaw Automobile Factory (FSO) will be halted today after assembling the last unit of its sole model, the Chevrolet Aveo, because its contract with GM for the production of this model has expired. 1,200 of the company’s 1,800 staff will be dismissed by the end of February, and the round of layoffs will probably continue. The plant, which belongs to Ukraine’s UkrAvto, will be maintained so that car production can be started there again. FSO’s management is reportedly in talks with potential investors from China and India, and even with Japanese car maker Nissan.
Production of the Aveo sedan was launched at FSO in November 2007, with its 3- and 5-door hatchback derivatives added there later. The projected annual output amounted of as much as 100 thousand units a year, but it actually never happened. The company produced 149,000 units in 2008, 60,000 in 2009 and only 45,000 last year.
