Automotive industry: Labor dispute at Mercedes – Management demands 38-hour week
The automaker wants to implement unpaid overtime. The union and works councils are resisting this. Are factory closures in Germany and relocations abroad threatened?
Mercedes-Benz management is proposing a 38-hour workweek in Germany, which is three hours more than the current 35 hours, without extra pay. The proposal is part of efforts to reduce labor costs in the country, which the company says are not competitive internationally. The company is under pressure to cut costs as it faces declining profits and sales, and has threatened that if labor costs are not reduced, there may be further relocations of production abroad.
The talks between management and works councils are described as tough and protracted, with the IG Metall union opposing unpaid overtime.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
