Car manufacturer: Employees criticize the location debate at Mercedes

Stuttgart. IG Metall and the general works council have criticized Mercedes-Benz's renewed push for competitiveness in Germany. The car manufacturer announced on Thursday that it would stop all further investments in the German locations and examine specifically and in detail which locations it could still afford in Germany. Possible factory closures are getting closer. The Handelsblatt first reported about it on Thursday.

As a general works council, we are aware of the situation and difficult situation in which Mercedes-Benz finds itself, said the chairman of the general works council, Ergun Lümali, in a statement that was available to the German Press Agency.

We will get involved in a solution-oriented manner “and work tirelessly to preserve and ensure the future viability of our German locations.” You have highly qualified employees. But instead of investing in the German locations, the board is threatening to relocate locations to Eastern Europe.

"We need board members who believe in Germany as an industrial location and don't trash it every time there is a crisis. We firmly reject plant closures and know how to defend ourselves," said Lümali, according to the statement.

IG Metall district manager Barabara Resch said that plant closures could not be done with the union. They are ready to find a solution and want to jointly make the locations future-proof and secure jobs. “To do this, the company must disclose its plans and create binding prospects for products and investments.” It cannot be the case that the board wants to stop further investments in German locations and at the same time demand longer working hours and cuts in benefits from employees.

The conflict over labor costs and the competitiveness of German locations compared to other countries has been simmering for a long time and recently escalated. The Stuttgart-based company has had to struggle with declining sales and slumps in profits in recent years.

The group took countermeasures accordingly and tightened the cost screws. Recently, Mercedes also initiated a discussion about working hours and labor costs in Germany. The working hours must be cheaper, the board said in a letter. The most direct and fairest way is to work more for the same money. As a result, there were protests by employees.

Mercedes production director Michael Schiebe had already announced the closure of two plants in Germany if costs in Germany were not reduced. The clear goal, however, is to maintain all locations in Germany.