Mercedes-Benz Halts Investment in German Plants and Weighs Closures
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Mercedes-Benz has stopped all further investment in its German plants and is now examining which sites it can still afford. The company announced the step on Thursday 12 November in an interview published on its staff intranet, after months of talks with the works council and the IG Metall union on cutting labour costs brought no agreement.
Production board member Michael Schiebe said the board had jointly decided to halt all further investment in German sites. According to the company, an hour of production work in Germany costs up to five times as much as at its plants in Eastern Europe, with a similar gap in administration.
Human resources board member Britta Seeger said the company must now check in detail which German locations it can afford. "We all want to avoid plant closures at any price," she said, adding that the option now has to be pursued more concretely.
In October, Schiebe had already warned that two German plants could close if costs are not reduced: one vehicle assembly plant and one powertrain plant. Mercedes-Benz assembles cars in Germany in Sindelfingen, Rastatt and Bremen. Its powertrain plants are in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, Affalterbach, Berlin, Hamburg, Kamenz, Kölleda and Arnstadt.
The board wants employees to work longer hours without extra pay. Special payments, profit sharing and holiday and Christmas pay are also part of the talks. The carmaker has faced falling sales and a sharp drop in profit in recent years.
No plant closure has been decided yet. Nothing changes for employees today, and the talks between management and the employee side continue.
What it means for you: if you work at a Mercedes-Benz plant or for one of its suppliers in Germany, your contract stays as it is for now. Follow the information from your works council and your union, and do not sign changes to your working hours or pay without advice.
Sources: tagesschau.de, Handelsblatt
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