In negotiations on lowering Mercedes costs, there are still no signs of solutions. Now the concert leaders have suspended all investments in factories in Germany and want to consider the possibility of closing them.

The automaker, Mercedes, negotiations on costs with the Employers’ Council and the IG Metall union are stuck. In this situation, concert leaders have announced they will consider the possibility of closing factories in Germany due to high production costs. It has also been decided that all further investments in factories in Germany will stop, said production director Michael Schiebe, in an interview published in the concert Intranet.

Despite numerous and intensive talks, there is still no view of any solution cohorts, and, with the current cost structure, cannot be invested in Germany, Scheebe argued.

Directors Seek Employment From Employers

With these reports, the concert is increasing pressure on employees. The company needs a decision on negotiations with the employment council so that certain concessions can be made on the part of employees, said framework director Britta Seeger.

Exactly such a decision does not appear on the horizon. So now we are forced to examine concretely and in detail which factories in Germany can continue to deal with. According to her, closures should be avoided at any cost, but now unfortunately this opportunity should be considered more concrete.

The production director Schiebe stressed in the interview that the cost of an hour’s production work in Germany is on several occasions up to five times higher than in factories in Eastern Europe. If an agreement is not reached, new models will be produced only outside Germany.

Seeger also referred to current negotiations on wages in the metallural and electrical industry. IG Metall requires a five – percent salary increase. Such growth would further increase the already high labour costs in Germany, though they are now too high compared at the international level. )

Forty-hour work weeks required instead of 35 hours

In total, Mercedes has twelve production centres in Germany. Currently, the company is holding talks on the so-called productivity éofensive, with which the reduction of costs is targeted.

Due to the decline in profits in the car sector, the directors demand that employees work longer without additional compensation in wages. It’s been discussed for a 40-hour work week instead of 35 hours. For the employment council and the IG Metall this is a red line, as the 35-hour week is considered one of the union’s main achievements.

The conditions under which the agreement for cutting working hours was then reached no longer exist, Seeger argued. According to her, a larger number of working hours could rapidly increase productivity, without directly affecting workers’ salaries. However, the management aims to interfere with additional payments, voluntary benefits as well as profit participation, as well as components defined by collective contracts, such as rewards for holiday and Christmas.

In an extremely challenging environment

Schiebe said, that you understand that the measures discussed require a lot of our employees. But now it must be done: We come into an extremely challenging environment, characterized by customs fees, pressure on prices, lower market demand, and strong competition, especially from China. )

Seeger stated that even the concert leaders will accept financial sacrifices. According to her, the leaders have not received a raise in the last two rounds of salary growth.

Mercedes has faced falling sales and profits in recent years. Schiebe has questioned the possibility of closing two factories in Germany a few weeks ago if the costs are not reduced. In this case, a German chariot assembly factory and a German movement system factory (powerrain) would be affected. Powerrain factories produce components for vehicles.

Source Layer: RTKLive