Risky escalation: Mercedes is heading full throttle towards the VW trap

The dispute over labor costs at Mercedes-Benz is escalating. This increases the Stuttgarters' risk of not being able to turn the corner in time.

The Mercedes board is stopping all investments in the German locations; all plants are apparently up for grabs. As much as the people of Stuttgart have to save money, this announcement should be understood as one thing above all: as a blatant threat to the employees. Management is demanding significant cuts from them, around 40 hours per week instead of the previous 35.

The threat of factory closures brings back memories of VW. After a job cut was decided there two years ago, the Wolfsburg-based company is once again negotiating tens of thousands of job cuts. The conflict between management and employees escalated months ago, but collective bargaining and possible strikes are still imminent. There has been a verbal war for a long time, recently the works council and IG Metall even accused the board of deliberately making false statements in public, and there was talk of a "confused distortion of the facts". Instead of solutions, all we hear are mutual accusations from Wolfsburg.

Things shouldn't come to this at Mercedes. Every further escalation between employer and employees creates additional paralysis and costs valuable time and capacity instead of saving costs and developing solutions for the future. Germany's car manufacturers, the former model industry, need all their strength to return to international competitiveness.

The auto industry has long been a role model when it comes to co-determination. It seems clear to the Mercedes works council what is at stake - and that its own strengths should not flow into an endless battle with management, but into the future of the German locations. “We firmly reject plant closures and know how to defend ourselves,” says the works council. However, the employee representatives emphasize that they want to get involved in a “solution-oriented” manner.

This can be understood to mean that, in view of the tense economic situation, employees have significantly lost their power and have little power against management. The declared willingness to find solutions can also be read as a constructive attitude to tackle the problems together in a deep crisis. The board would be well advised to accept the offer. Ultimately, future-proof locations are the goal of both sides. If Mercedes loses its production in Germany, its valuable image is at stake. Few things stand for “Made in Germany” like the Mercedes star.