Things do not work out in Germany for Opel. Fearing a haemorrhage in the workforce, the works council of the new division of PSA has simply decided to block candidates for various plans for voluntary departures in progress. More than 200 cases – most of them from Russelsheim, Kaiserslautern or Eisenach plants – are currently frozen. To the chagrin of the management of Opel and its parent company.
According to estimates by the EC, more than 2,000 employees have filed a file under the senior program announced in December, and nearly 2,000 more are about to do so. In addition, there are upcoming departures linked to the voluntary departure plan set up in March. “This is a real escape”, was alarmed Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug, the chairman of the works council, a few days ago. As a reminder, Opel has about 38,000 employees, including 19,000 in the Rhine.
For its part, PSA, which wants to reduce the payroll of Opel by 30%, has provisioned in its accounts 400 million euros to carry out the restructuring of the brand at Eclair. Last week, in front of its shareholders gathered in general meetingCarlos Tavares spoke of “intense negotiations, to say the least, which should last a few more weeks”.
Afloat
The tension has already been rising for several weeks between PSA, the Opel EC and the German union IG Metall. The French group wants to quickly put back its new property, heavily deficit for 15 years. Exit to derogate from the salary increase provided for by the branch agreement and to put German production sites in competition with the rest of PSA or Opel’s European plants. Which did not really seem to happen in Germany, a country of co-management. “The group can not afford to support Opel employees as General Motors has done for years,” says a French union source.