They were nearly 800 kilometers away but gave themselves a speckled duel. On the one hand, Carlos Tavares, the boss of PSA, who promised his shareholders to straighten Opel with an iron fist. On the other hand, Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug, chairman of the German brand’s works council, promised the employees to stand firm against the “propaganda” of the French group.
“The negotiations are intense, to say the least, with our social partners in Germany,” said Tuesday the chairman of the board of PSA during the meeting.general meeting from the car manufacturer. Before warning them: “Do not be surprised, this will still make some noise. “
Production costs
“Protect the Opel brand and stop destroying the heart of the company with propaganda,” Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug told PSA in front of the 1,800 employees at the Eisenach plant in East of Germany, built by General Motors just after the reunification .
“It’s a stupid discussion to say that on a comparable basis, German factories have higher costs than French factories,” added the unionist, stressing the difference between the obsolete architectures of GM and those “modern” PSA . In Eisenach, the cost of production per vehicle would be around 400 euros higher than the target of 850 euros set by PSA.
But this would also be linked to the steady decline in volumes of models at the end of the course, the Corsa and Adam, he said, considering it possible to reconnect with “700 euros per vehicle” that showed this model plant in the past. For him, his future will depend on the abilities he will be given. Beyond the application of overall salary increases of 4.3% this is the stakes of this current battle.
Respect of agreements
According to union sources, the Eisenach agreement provides for the production of two models on a platform working in three-eight for five days a week. This would correspond to a theoretical annual volume of 120,000 to 180,000 vehicles.
According to the same sources, PSA, which was committed to respecting existing agreements, proposes to reduce production to a model (Grandland), corresponding to a volume of about 70,000 units. It would be a “slow death”, say the employees, who fear the loss of nearly half of the 1,800 local jobs.
Carlos Tavares and Michael Lohscheller, the boss of Opel, say they respect their commitments, as they said last Friday to the German ministers of Economy and Labor.
“We do not want French-style social relations, we do not want burnt tires to fly over the heads of managers,” said Bodo Ramelow, the minister-president of Thuringia, who came to Eisenach on Tuesday. We do not want destroyed tools, but we do not want a factory to be destroyed by management decisions. “