After crisis summit in Berlin: PSA puts investments in Opel plant Eisenach on ice

04/16/2018

After crisis summit in Berlin PSA puts investments in Opel plant Eisenach on ice

AFP

The boss and his Opel boss: Carlos Tavares (left) and Michael Lohscheller leave open the future of 1800 Opel employees in Eisenach

Due to the dispute over the Opel refurbishment, the French PSA group has put its investment decision for the Eisenach plant on ice. There had been no green light for the investment at a meeting of the PSA Executive Committee on Monday, Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller told the staff. Reason is the lack of agreement with IG Metall and the works council on the future conditions.

The future of the assembly plant in Thuringia with around 1,800 employees remains uncertain. The Opel redevelopment plan “Pace” is planned for Eisenach from next year on the production of an off-road vehicle, which can also be equipped with electric drive. The necessary investments in new plants are now stopped for the time being. Their amount and concrete impact on jobs were not mentioned. Currently, about 130 employees from Eisenach work in the Opel plants Rüsselsheim and Kaiserslautern. In addition, short-time work has been agreed.

A short-term summit meeting in the Berlin Ministry of Economic Affairs remained PSA boss Carlos Tavares on Monday – and duped so that the assembled ministers, A spokesman called the “short lead time” as a reason for the rejection of Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier (CDU) and Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) and numerous politicians from the countries with Opel plants. But they said they were ready to continue “the bilateral dialogue with federal and state politics.”

Minister Tiefensee insists on pledges from PSA for Eisenach

Thuringia’s Minister of Economic Affairs Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD) insists that the PSA Group comply with its commitments. “For the Eisenach plant, we expect an investment decision that will maintain the current capacity utilization and secure beyond 2020,” explained Tiefensee after the meeting in Berlin. “That means the production of at least two vehicles at the site.”

DPA

Opel models in front of the Eisenach plant (Thuringia)

On Friday, negotiations between the employee representatives and Opel had been interrupted. The company had vainly demanded the deferral of the tariff increase in April and the reduction of super-tariff allowances. The tariff increase of 4.3 percent from the collective agreement for the metal and electrical industry is effective, as Lohscheller acknowledged in his message.

IG Metall CEO Jörg Hofmann insisted on the existing collective agreements: “From the point of view of the workforce there is no reason to make concessions again for these commitments, which should be a matter of course.” Instead of making further demands now, PSA should finally be able to make a sustainable contribution Business model for Opel on the table. ” Opel works council Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug described the Lohscheller communication as “unique and unprecedented in Opel history”: “PSA is open and vicious collective bargaining agreements in question,” said Schäfer-Klug the German Press Agency.

Both sides, however, were ready for further negotiations. The aim of the IG Metall is according to the words of the center-district chief Jörg Köhlinger the preservation of jobs in Eisenach, Kaiserslautern and Rüsselsheim and securing all Opel locations. Lohscheller explained: “We want to protect the company and invest in German locations.”

Trust in the PSA leadership suffers

Previously, the Rhineland-Palatinate head of government Malu Dreyer (SPD) and other social democrats Opel had warned to comply with commitments. Hesse’s Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) said the state government had welcomed the takeover by PSA, as PSA had promised a bright future for Opel. “But it is also clear that contracts are there to comply with them,” explained a government spokesman. PSA must also make transparent what the company plans with Opel, said the spokesman: “Opel should not be a shell, but as agreed, a promising company.”

Dreyer, Hesse’s SPD leader Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, Thuringia’s Minister of Economic Affairs Wolfgang Tiefensee and parliamentary group leader Andrea Nahles (both SPD) emphasized: “We expect compliance with the commitments made for investments and employees from last year.” The promises should not be questioned and confidence in the PSA leadership should not be damaged.

Opel was taken over in August 2017 by the French PSA Group and is in a major refurbishment, which is said to be without operational redundancies and plant closures. The German locations with almost 19,000 employees are currently working massively short

la / dpa

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