As of: March 12, 2024, 4:35 p.m
By: Marvin K. Hoffmann
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Mercedes-Benz examined the company's own car dealerships and made a decision.
Branches are to be sold.
Hamm - Going to a car dealership, looking at a Mercedes and buying it there - that will still be possible in the future.
However, it could be that the corresponding branch will then no longer be in the hands of Mercedes-Benz.
The company plans to sell its so-called “own retail operations” – i.e. the company-owned car dealerships – in Germany.
Mercedes sells car dealerships – around 8,000 employees affected
“Physical retail is and remains a central pillar for the success of Mercedes-Benz.
In order to offer the best customer experience even in the age of digitalization and electromobility, we are continuously optimizing the traditional sales structures,” explains a Mercedes-Benz spokesman in response to a
wa.de
query.
The company believes that selling the car dealerships would be more economical.
The idea itself is not new.
The employees had already expressed their dissatisfaction with this in February 2024 and parts of the workforce had protested against sales plans.
At that time there was still talk of simply examining the sale of the company's own branches.
But now the decision has been made: the car manufacturer wants to sell car dealerships.
Bild
was the first
to report on it.
This is likely to meet with resistance again from employees.
However, the works council and the IG Metall union would not like to comment on this until Wednesday, March 13th.
According to Mercedes-Benz AG, it is about maintaining the long-term success of sales in this environment.
The spokesman further explains to
wa.de
: “After very good experiences in various European markets, we are now also examining in Germany how we can set up our group-owned branches more independently - selling to experienced and renowned dealer groups is not ruled out.” For consumers This shouldn't ultimately have any negative consequences.
Mercedes-Benz takes a close look at all its own retail operations
This review is open-ended and step-by-step.
Each branch is also examined individually and branch-specifically - this applies to all own retail businesses in Germany, regardless of whether they are in rural or urban regions.
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According to information from
wa.de,
the works council has invited people to works meetings across the country on Wednesday, March 13th.
Around 8,000 employees in around 80 companies would be affected by the sales plans - in North Rhine-Westphalia alone there would be six branches with around 2,100 employees.
They should then be brought up to date with the plans.
Mercedes herself assures that they have nothing to fear.
Mercedes-Benz does not want to lay off any employees
“Mercedes-Benz stands by its social responsibility.
There will be no layoffs in the event of a possible realignment.
On the contrary, it is about securing the long-term viability of regional jobs as well as the existence and competitiveness of the branches.
We want to involve the employee representatives closely in the review and are committed to 'Securing the Future 2029', i.e. the promised job security for all collective bargaining employees," explains the Mercedes-Benz spokesman.
The company did not want or could not comment on possible buyers.
In the event of a sale, the principle of “best ownership” is crucial for potential investors.
“Criteria such as proven automobile retail expertise, sustainable investment willingness, long-term entrepreneurial concept, economic strength and openness to employee representatives are particularly important to us,” explains the company spokesman and adds: “We are not planning to sell to pure financial investors or to close any locations is not subject to review.”
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wa.de
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