© Joren De Weerdt
The Flemish government appoints an external study agency to analyze the restructuring plan of crisis manager Marc Zwaaneveld at bus builder Van Hool.
With that plan, a large part of production will disappear to North Macedonia. Only after an analysis of those measures will Flanders decide on possible support, it will be announced on Friday after a core meeting.
The Flemish ministers saw the crisis plan for the first time on Thursday evening. Zwaaneveld wants Van Hool to stop producing city buses, because they cannot be marketed competitively. The bus manufacturer would now concentrate on coaches, which will be produced in North Macedonia.
The Flemish top ministers discussed the plan for the first time on Friday, together with the Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV) and Gigarant. Flanders could participate in the manufacturer’s capital via PMV. Another possibility is that the guarantee on the loans worth 30 million euros is extended via Gigarant.
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But those decisions are not immediate. The vices first want to know whether the company has a realistic future after the restructuring, and this requires a thorough analysis of the plan.