Mercedes to halt German investments, considers plant closures

Résumé détaillé

Mercedes-Benz announced it will halt all investment in its German sites and is considering plant closures amid high costs and competition from China. Read More:…

Struggling German carmaker Mercedes-Benz announced Thursday it will halt all investment in Germany and is mulling plant closures, underlining the woes facing the country’s automotive sector.

Like its German peers, Mercedes has been battered by Chinese competition and high costs, and last month became the third big German carmaker to cut its outlook for the year.

Its management has been locked in talks with staff representatives to find ways to reduce costs but, with little sign that negotiations were making progress, the manufacturer signalled a harder line.

“The executive board has jointly decided to halt all further investments in German sites,” said board member Michael Schiebe in an interview posted on the company’s intranet and sent to AFP.

Management was unable to see any way forward on finding a deal with unions “despite numerous intensive discussions,” he said.

“We are now forced to carefully examine which German sites we would have to close if we cannot achieve a change in the cost structure.”

Schiebe stressed, however, that management still hoped for a breakthrough in talks and that “we want the next generations of vehicles to also be built at our German locations.”

There was nevertheless the possibility that “our new products will only be manufactured abroad,” he said.

The powerful IG Metall union is currently demanding a pay rise of five per cent in wage negotiations with the company.

Début de l'article, extrait de Punch. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.