Standstill at MAN: Ukraine war paralyzes truck production - employees fear - board of directors waives salary

Created: 04/11/2022, 08:52

MAN is in trouble again (symbol image).

© Peter Kneffel / dpa

The truck manufacturer MAN has slipped into the next crisis.

After Corona and the lack of chips, it is now the Ukraine war that is having a massive impact on the company.

Dachau/Karlsfeld-Ludwigsfeld – After the corona crisis came the chip crisis.

And now the Ukraine war is forcing around 3,500 employees of the truck manufacturer MAN to work short-time.

There has been a standstill at the Ludwigsfeld plant since March 14.

This time the situation seems dramatic.

In spring 2020 it was Corona and the lockdown that forced the truck manufacturer MAN to go on short-time work.

Then, in January 2021, came the lack of memory chips, which forced the plant to shut down and send workers home.

And now, a year later, it's the Ukraine war.

Short-time work at the MAN main plant on the Dachau district border

Around 3,500 employees at the car manufacturer’s main plant in Ludwigsfeld work in production and in production-related areas, and short-time work has now been extended for almost all of them.

What is new is that from March 14th, employees in administration will also be affected to a considerable extent by short-time work.

By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Dachau newsletter.

Short-time work at MAN: truck builder suffers economically from the Ukraine war

The war in the Ukraine has led to massive supply gaps in the supply of truck wiring harnesses at MAN Truck & Bus, which has resulted in a standstill at the Munich truck plant since March 14.

As a MAN spokesman informed the Dachauer Nachrichten when asked, the production employees are therefore on short-time work for their entire working time, and short-time work for one to several days has been announced for employees in administration.

The spokesman could not say how many employees in the administrative areas were affected.

MAN also cannot predict how long the short-time work will last.

MAN plant in Karlsfeld: There is a risk that truck production will be shut down for several weeks

The suppliers of the cable harnesses could not produce or only to a very limited extent at their Ukrainian locations.

This means that there is at least a risk of truck production being shut down for several weeks and a significant reduction in production in the second quarter.

MAN is in exchange with its suppliers and is examining alternative production sites for the quite demanding production of cable harnesses.

However, the construction of new production capacities, the procurement of machines and the training of employees would take several months.

According to the spokesman for the Dachauer Nachrichten, the board and works council have agreed that MAN's short-time work allowance paid by the state will be increased to 80 percent of the wage level.

MAN is trying to at least partially cushion the financial losses suffered by employees.

Short-time work at MAN: 8,000 employees at the truck factory fear

As a "sign of solidarity with the workforce", the MAN Executive Board will also "waive a considerable amount of salary due to the dramatic developments in the next three months," explained Alexander Vlaskamp, ​​CEO of MAN Truck & Bus.

Since the company cannot meet the agreed delivery times for trucks due to current developments, MAN has offered its customers an order cancellation.

At the same time, they will be given the opportunity to place an order at new conditions, according to the MAN spokesman.

A total of around 8,000 employees work at the MAN main plant on the district border.

The mood, employees report to the Dachauer Nachrichten, is tense.

Many worry.

Bernhard Hirsch