Spyker uncertainty leads to redundancies at CPP

Will we ever see the Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder go in to production?

Having geared up for production of Spyker Cars, the uncertainty surrounding ownership and future production has lead to management redundancies at CPP.

It all started so well for CPP (Manufacturing, Global Holding et al) when it was announced that Spyker Cars had been bought by CPP. And it made a lot of sense. To all intents and purposes CPP were already building most of what makes up a Spyker, before it was shipped to Holland to get the engine bolted in and the pretty bits added.

But Victor Muller’s foray in to Saab ownership has lead to the agreement for CPP to buy Spyker sidelined, as Muller appears to have done a deal with a little-known venture capital company in the US – North Street Capital.

Even then the deal is probably going to be complicated by the issues surrounding Vladimir Antonov’s arrest over a missing €300 million at Lithuania’s Snoras Bank. It’s thought that Spyker was wholly funded by Antonov and he or, if the allegations are proved against him, the authorities seeking to repatriate his assets, will tie up Spyker in no-man’s land for a long time.

So CPP, who will potentially have their own problems with Antonov’s 50 per cent investment in their business, have decided to bite the bullet and start to cut costs, having invested heavily in facilities and management in preparation for Spyker production.

With a staff of 250+ CPP are carrying a heavy payroll, and some of the ‘management’ must be taking home sizeable pay packets. People like Tony Gott (ex RR & Bentley), Wicher Kist (ex Spyker), Steve Haywood (ex Land Rover Chief Engineer), not to mention the cost of paying salaries to the Zagato family (CPP and Zagato are ‘partners’).

CPP didn’t go in to detail of who is been let go when we spoke to them, although at this stage we don’t think it’s any of the headline acts. But they are losing at least six ‘management’ staff, which we guess will save them around £300k a year.

Hopefully this is as far as CPP will need to cut, and it’s a very sensible thing to do with so much uncertainty over Spyker. But it could get a lot worse if the Antonov situation starts to implicate in CPP’s aggressive growth and acquisition plans.