The voluntary severance package at Opel is apparently well received. The works council sees the future of the automaker endangered – and provisionally denies its approval.
Opel plant in Kaiserslautern (archive)
Friday, 27.04.2018
14:05 clock
at Opel the dispute over the voluntary redundancy program is escalating. The works council provisionally refuses to approve current contracts.
At the same time, the company management is invited to severance of up to 275,000 euros plus further supplements for the time being not to offer. This results from an internal employee information of the employees. Reason is the high acceptance of the other offers too early retirement and partial retirement.
The Opel workforce argues with the new French parent company PSA about their savings plans, the Negotiations are deadlocked, Works council and IG metal accuse the management of endangering the automaker with a clear cut in Germany.
IG Metall warns of “uncertain future”
In the employee message the labor union IG Metall states that the reduction targets agreed with the management of a total of 3,700 jobs in the German plants have already been achieved, for example, at the Kaiserslautern location. This would create “a threatening situation with an uncertain future” for the plants and the remaining employees.
In addition, the works council has not issued an opinion on allegedly late received mass dismissal notice. An Opel spokesman said one does not comment on internal writing to employees.
Already 1000 applications
For its part, the management accused the works council of breaking the blockade against the company agreement on the volunteer program. This is the result of a letter from the Opel management to the employees.
“It is a fool’s tale that happens here a ‘mass flight’ of service providers and the work can not be done in the future,” said the management in his letter. After almost 20 years of losses in a row, Opel should finally be more powerful.
With the agreed on March 21st Voluntary retirement program the car maker wants to push the costs. The offer was well received, the management said. Around 1000 applications are already in place, in about 200 cases there are already ready for signature termination agreements. 70 people should already go to the 1st of May and receive an additional “Speed Bonus”. This will now be blocked.