• SEAT S.A. launches collaboration with government to speed up the vaccination programme of the Balearic Islands
• SEAT. S.A. positions the health and wellbeing of its employees and society at the heart of its post-pandemic success
• Thanks to proactive management throughout the pandemic, including a sustained vaccination campaign of employees and citizens, SEAT S.A. is able to focus on the future and reduce workplace restrictions that have been in place since early 2020

Majorca, 16/06/2021 – SEAT S.A. today reaffirmed its commitment to the health and wellbeing of its people – and to society in general – with further investment in vaccine distribution and plans to reduce restrictions put on employees to keep them safe during the most difficult months of the pandemic. As part of this investment, SEAT S.A. has announced an agreement with the government of the Balearic Islands to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination programme on the popular holiday islands of Ibiza, Majorca and Minorca, with the goal of achieving at least 70% immunisation in the region by the end of July.

To support the Balearic Islands in reaching this ambitious goal, SEAT S.A. will provide three bespoke medical motor homes, with one doctor and three nurses in each, to provide easy access to vaccinations. Alongside the medical practitioners, and in accordance with the Health Service of the Balearic Islands, SEAT S.A.’s highly trained health professionals will support the immunisation of local citizens. Thanks to this commitment, the SEAT S.A. medical team will be able to administer approximately 20,000 doses per week. Other companies such as Meliá, Baleària, Vueling and the car rental association Baleval will also help with the plan by providing support for travel, transport and accommodation of professionals and materials.

Following the implantation of SEAT S.A.’s own vaccination campaign, successfully started with the vaccination of its 15,000 employees and those of their suppliers, and aiming to follow with the general population in Catalonia, the organisation is beginning to plan for its long-term strategic future in the ‘new normal’ of post-Covid life. The world’s ongoing public health battle has shown that guaranteeing the welfare of employees needs to be a central part of any organisation’s growth and sustainability strategy.

SEAT S.A. has led the way in ensuring its people could work safely and stay healthy during the pandemic. When production restarted in April 2020, SEAT S.A. was the first company to carry out mass-PCR tests for all its employees. It did this in the knowledge that, even if production slowed down due to limited staff numbers, the health of its people and communities was more important than simple production numbers.

Now, nearly 18 months on, SEAT S.A. is in the process of de-escalating these safety measures, strictly adhering to governmental guidelines and recommendations. Certain essential measures will continue to be maintained – such as the use of masks, social distancing and the ventilation of indoor spaces – while other aspects will be relaxed. For instance, meetings will no longer have capacity restrictions, temperature controls at building entrances will be removed, and employees will be provided with more flexibility when it comes to their day-to-day working habits.

“The preventive measures SEAT S.A. put in place, even before the health crisis became a global pandemic, were instrumental in ensuring our employees stayed safe. As a result, we’ve made of SEAT a European ‘Green Zone’ with a very low number of infections. Additionally, we’ve vaccinated over 10,000 of our workers and suppliers so far, and 70% of our workforce over 40 years old are already immunised” said Dr. Patricia Such, SEAT S.A. Health, Safety and Emergency Director. â€œNow we’ve made it our mission to help the regional Health Authorities with their vaccination effort with the aim of steadily moving together towards the long-awaited new normality that we all want so much.”

SEAT S.A. has a strong culture of prevention and care for its workers. With the onset of the pandemic, the company stopped production as this was the only possible way to guarantee the safety of its employees. It then launched a project to manufacture more than 600 emergency respirators and surgical masks, which were distributed to various Spanish hospitals at a time when there was a severe shortage of medical equipment. Since May 2021, SEAT S.A. has been providing its employees, including those within the wider Volkswagen Group, access to vaccines.

Health and wellbeing, in all its guises, is good for business and will define successful organisations in a post-Covid world. The health crisis has highlighted the relevance of having efficient tools and resources to guarantee the long-term wellbeing of workers. Thanks to its pioneering initiatives, such as the creation of its ‘CARS Health Care and Rehabilitation Centre’ and ‘CARS Madrid’ in Martorell and Alcobendas, respectively, SEAT S.A. is setting the benchmark of what sustainable good a corporate entity is able to achieve.

To find out more about SEAT S.A’s initiatives, please see below:

−         CARS medical center

−         Donation for COVID research

−         Measures against COVID

−         Tests