At Daimler there is actually restraint, but that is over.
Employee representatives run storm against the tough austerity course, now the company is questioning a central future project.
At
Daimler
, the conversion is causing growing tensions.
The group wants to cut staff nationwide.
The
works council
defends itself.
Now the company threatens to
relocate
the e-campus.
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Stuttgart - At
Daimler
, the dispute over the future course and the savings plans of the group management around CEO
Ola Källenius
continues to rise.
After various attacks by the works councils in the past few days, the carmaker reacted on Wednesday.
In an internal letter to the employees, he threatened the planned electromobility competence center at the main plant in
Stuttgart-Untertürkheim
if the employee representatives continued to insist on their demands.
Meanwhile,
truck boss
Martin Daum
, also by letter to the workforce, rejected the warnings of a "deforestation" in the German truck plants.
Works councils and
IG Metall
had recently positioned themselves more and more openly against the conversion and savings plans and only called for a nationwide "solidarity campaign" at all locations on Monday.
“In the factories, the workers tremble and fear for their future.
The staff in the administration feels rejected, ”it said.
General Works Council chief
Michael Brecht
accused the management of acting “absolutely resistant to advice”.
Daimler: Fierce dispute about the future of the main plant in Untertürkheim
As has often been the case in the past, the main focus is on the main plant in
Untertürkheim
.
Mercedes-Benz
develops and manufactures
engines, transmissions and axles
at the company's headquarters on the
Neckar
.
This means that the plant is much more affected by the transformation of the industry than, for example, vehicle production in Sindelfingen, with 4,000 of the 19,000 jobs to be eliminated by 2025, according to information provided by the employees.
Daimler
wants to build a "Mercedes-Benz Drive Systems Campus" in Untertürkheim and develop batteries and electric drives.
The works council wants that too, but insists that compensation be created in the form of other production orders for work that is lost in the course of the switch - as was once agreed with the company.
The e-campus alone is not enough to compensate for the jobs that are lost in the combustion engine.
"The negotiators on the employee side insist that all existing agreements are implemented unchanged," says the management's letter, which is available to the German Press Agency.
From the point of view of the time, they were sensible and correct, but the situation has fundamentally changed.
“Sticking to the status quo is therefore not an option,” write board members
Markus Schäfer
and
Jörg Burzer
.
Daimler: Space problems in the main plant - company is examining alternative scenarios
One of the points of contention is the manufacture of crankshafts.
“One thing is clear: If the new crankshaft production comes to Untertürkheim in full, we will have to examine alternative scenarios for the Mercedes-Benz Drive Systems campus.
Because a bundling of future technologies is then no longer possible in Untertürkheim for reasons of space. "
A
Daimler
spokeswoman confirmed that various alternatives were currently being examined.
In order to implement future technologies in Untertürkheim as planned, the appropriate conditions would have to be created there, for example in terms of the areas.
This also includes the fact that one cannot stick to the traditional portfolio.
However, one continues to strive for a constructive solution together with the employee representatives.
The letter states that the agreement to exclude redundancies for operational reasons until the end of 2029 is of course in place.
At the same time, Schäfer and Burzer ask the employees to be flexible and, in individual cases, to consider moving to another plant nearby.
Daimler: The trucks are boiling too
The mood is also heated in the truck area, where thousands of positions are available.
“There is a risk of deforestation if we don't fight back!” The works councils at several locations recently wrote to the employees.
"We can't leave it like that," says a letter that has been signed by Daimler Trucks CEO Daum and HR Director
Jürgen Hartwig
and is also available to the dpa.
"Clear cutting" implies that we want to cut jobs arbitrarily, and that is simply wrong. "
One must, on the one hand, reduce costs, especially in Europe, and, on the other hand, create technological transformation.
You seek a dialogue with the employee representatives in order to find the best solutions together.
"But we want to tell you one thing quite frankly: We can only take measures that are economical," writes the management.
Therefore, one has to be prepared for the fact that employment will disappear in some areas.
Daimler Trucks: "Noticeable Changes" Ahead
A spokeswoman confirmed that there will be "noticeable changes" in the works.
The company is aware of the associated responsibility and will negotiate with the works council about the future direction of the locations in the coming months.
The Munich-based
MAN
group is also planning deep cuts, the mood at the VW subsidiary is in the basement.
(
dpa
)
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen Digital editorial network.
