“The factory can no longer be saved”: MAN facing major problems - CEO speaks of dramatic losses

The Munich-based truck manufacturer MAN is preparing for a difficult year in 2021.

Group boss Andreas Tostmann made this clear to Merkur.de in the run-up to the works meeting on Friday.

Munich - The boss of the Munich truck manufacturer

,

, has

dampened

hopes for the locations in

and

threatened by closure or partial relocation

.

The

in Steyr and the component production in Salzgitter are "not profitable", Tostmann said at a virtual company meeting on Friday morning, according to participants.

You have to react here. 

“Steyr will probably no longer be able to be saved,” a

employee told Merkur.de * after the event.

builds

the light and medium-sized series (TGL and TGM) for inner-city distribution

at its location near

.

The market segment has been shrinking for years. 

MAN: Growing question marks

The question marks behind the sites in Wittlich (Rhineland-Palatinate) and Plauen (Saxony), which are threatened with closure, are also growing.

In Wittlich,

converts

trucks according to customer requirements, in Plauen buses.

It is true that Tostmann confirmed earlier statements in front of the MAN employees on Friday, according to which Steyr, Wittlich and Plauen were "up for grabs".

In employee circles, however, the hope of maintaining the two locations continues to fade.

It will be "extremely difficult to save Wittlich and Plauen," they say. 

The

and

locations

, which are also

threatened by deep cuts,

should, however, continue to play a key role after the planned realignment of the group.

According to the plans, Munich will remain the main plant in the long term and will be expanded into a competence center for e-mobility, according to corporate circles.

The engine plant in

is to be the central production plant for conventional and future drives. 

With the new MAN TGL, TGM and TGS ranges, MAN Truck & Bus is introducing the vehicles in the new generation of MAN trucks for use in the #distributionsector.

Special industry expertise meets the most modern, future-oriented technology.

Read more: https://t.co/Pyh5ncaZZK pic.twitter.com/nf3eJ1G4Ml

- MAN Truck & Bus (@MAN_Group) October 22, 2020

MAN: Hope to keep component production in Salzgitter

The future of the

site

, however, has apparently not yet been conclusively clarified.

The

subsidiary

produces

previously non-powered axles and crankshafts

in its plant in Lower Saxony

.

The commercial vehicle manufacturer also operates its global logistics center there.

In the course of the planned renovation,

had planned to

relocate axle production to the plant in

.

Informed circles say that the group could possibly revise these plans.

Lower Saxony's Prime Minister

is a member of the supervisory board of MAN's parent company

.

This could "possibly play a role" in the negotiations, it is said from informed circles. 

MAN boss: "2021 will be very difficult"

Tostmann had already

made it clear

on Thursday in a conversation with

how serious the economic situation is at the truck manufacturer

.

"We are going into the next year with very strict lockdown rules," the

boss had declared in the run-up to the works meeting.

Therefore, the year 2021 will "

certainly be very difficult

for

".

For 2022, however, one is aiming for a “significant improvement stroke”.

Tostmann confirmed earlier statements to Merkur.de, according to which the group is preparing for deep red numbers in the current year.

According to a statement published at the end of October, the truck manufacturer expects an operating loss of 450 to 650 million euros for 2020.

MAN Truck & Bus

announced a comprehensive restructuring program on September 11 and aims to save a total of 1.8 billion euros.

9500 jobs are to be eliminated.

At the end of September, the Board of Management also terminated the employment and site security agreements that ran until 2030.

This would mean redundancies for operational reasons.

Since then, the situation has worsened.

It was only at the end of November that the works council broke off negotiations on the restructuring plans at short notice and accused the company of “uncompromising”.

MAN: Clarity by Christmas

In order to get the deadlocked talks going again,

HR Director

had recently intervened

.

Negotiations are due to resume next week.

He would like to see “clarity for

future by Christmas,

” said Tostmann.

What is needed, however, is a “clean program that leads us into a stable future and does not have to be constantly improved”.