AvtoVAZ Facing Pressure From Workers to Buyout JV Partners
Shareholders in the joint venture between General Motors and AvtoVAZ are scheduled to meet on Jan. 31, Interfax reported Wednesday, citing an unnamed source close to one of the three shareholders.
Irina Shemyakina, a spokeswoman for the joint venture, said in December that the shareholders planned to meet in January to discuss the venture"s work.
Separately, a group of veteran workers at AvtoVAZ is calling for the plant to buy GM and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development out of the joint venture, Alexander Yasinsky, the head of the group, told Interfax.
The workers group will submit a request to management to buy by the end of this week, he told Interfax.
"The plant is working at a loss and the joint venture is getting all the profits," he told the news agency.
The new state-friendly management at AvtoVAZ has called into question its partnership with the world"s largest carmaker. Two posts on the carmaker"s board were given to representatives from state arms dealer Rosoboronexport at the end of last year.
In December, a source in AvtoVAZ"s management said the company was intent on freeing itself from restrictive agreements with the joint venture, without elaborating.
The two carmarkers each own 41.5 percent of the joint venture, which has been in operation since 2002. The remaining 17 percent is owned by EBRD.
Irina Shemyakina, a spokeswoman for the joint venture, said in December that the shareholders planned to meet in January to discuss the venture"s work.
Separately, a group of veteran workers at AvtoVAZ is calling for the plant to buy GM and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development out of the joint venture, Alexander Yasinsky, the head of the group, told Interfax.
The workers group will submit a request to management to buy by the end of this week, he told Interfax.
"The plant is working at a loss and the joint venture is getting all the profits," he told the news agency.
The new state-friendly management at AvtoVAZ has called into question its partnership with the world"s largest carmaker. Two posts on the carmaker"s board were given to representatives from state arms dealer Rosoboronexport at the end of last year.
In December, a source in AvtoVAZ"s management said the company was intent on freeing itself from restrictive agreements with the joint venture, without elaborating.
The two carmarkers each own 41.5 percent of the joint venture, which has been in operation since 2002. The remaining 17 percent is owned by EBRD.