EVLN(No. sez NO on bale-out)
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--- {EVangel}
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/business/article.jhtml?articleID=405207
Updated24.09.02, kl 15:57 (GMT +01:00)
State won't bail out electric car maker
Norway's Minister of Industry said Tuesday that the
government won't go along with demands from Ford Motor Co
that Ford claimed were necessary to keep production humming
at its "Think" electric car plant northeast of Oslo.
Minister Ansgar Gabrielsen told reporters Tuesday that he
had sent a letter to Ford saying the state couldn't make the
additional concessions it wanted. Gabrielsen said he also
pointed out to Ford that the state already has granted
considerable economic support to the electric car maker
since its start-up in the mid-1990s.
Government officials, meanwhile, are willing to allow
electric cars to use special commuter lanes found on local
highways in and around Norwegian cities.
Gabrielsen said Ford's demands would have cost at least NOK
650 million, or an effective subsidy of NOK 5.5 million per
job at the endangered Think Nordic plant in Aurskog,
northeast of Oslo.
The government's position came as no great surprise but may
be a blow to efforts to keep the Think plant in operation.
Ford has signaled its intention to pull out, and now may
also halt efforts to find new investors willing to take its
place.
Aftenposten English Web Desk Nina Berglund
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