The PSA Group gives the new subsidiary Opel three years, then the Rüsselsheim must write black numbers. For the workforce this means: It will shrink – even without dismissals.
PSA boss Carlos Tavares Opel boss Michael Lohscheller
Thursday, 09.11.2017
19:38 clock
Little time? At the end of the text there is a summary.
The tension in the Opel works was great in the past few days. It was the time of the doom-callers and apocalyptics. Even though many spoke of redevelopment, turnaround or austerity measures – the employees were only interested in one thing: how brutal will the job payroll cut that is normally associated with such a conversion be canceled?
Actually stands Opel before a new beginning – once again. And there are many indications that this time it will not be easier than the times before. However, the chances are likely to be greater than in the past. Because Carlos Tavares, head of the French Opel owner PSA Peugeot-Citroën, has proven that he understands his business as a reorganizer.
The view of the example PSA But it is this who caused such alarm in the corridors and in the workshops: After all, thousands of people lost their jobs in the process of restructuring the group.
At least in this regard Opel boss Michael Lohscheller could give the all-clear on Thursday, when he presented his future plan to the public, Because its core message for the workforce was: Calm down, you keep your work. “We want to achieve our goals without plant closure and without redundancies.”
Nevertheless, the number of employees is set to fall in the medium term. Severance payments and partial retirement programs should make it easier to say goodbye in individual cases. According to estimates by Stefan Bratzel of the Center of Automotive Management in Bergisch-Gladbach, up to 3000 jobs could be eliminated in this way.
PSA rehabilitation plan as a model
But even those who keep their jobs, will have to accept a lot. For example, a large part of the 40-hour contracts should be cut back to the 35-hour tariff plan in order to save additional labor costs.
In the other chapters, however, the paper presented by Lohscheller on this Thursday reads like a blueprint of the recovery plan that Tavares had devised for PSA a few years ago. In this way, the workflows in the workshops and in the administration are to be optimized; Models that have little success or only a weak margin, should consistently fly out of the program. By contrast, much more identical parts are to be used under the sheet metal in order to reduce the costs of purchasing.
In this point, the Opel engineers will have to congregate with their French colleagues, because the concept of course only unfolds its full effectiveness when it is used across brands. The engine builders are the first to swallow, because they will soon have to do without their own constructions. The transmission and engine range from Opel is considered outdated and hardly suitable to create further tightening of CO2 limits.
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That sounds like a call for submission to the dictates of Paris. In fact, however, the scope of the technicians in the future is likely to be larger. Because Tavares promises the development center in Rüsselsheim for the future great autonomy in the design of the Opel and Vauxhall models, “We have no micro-management with Opel-Vauxhall in. Opel remains in the hands of the Opel boss and the board.”
By 2020, nine new models are planned: such as the Opel Combo 2018 and the new Corsa 2019th The small car is to be built as a pure electric car. Even future topics such as the fuel cell for the entire group should be located in Rüsselsheim.
In addition, the room for expansion in new markets should grow significantly. The restriction to Europe, the former Opel mother General Motors once had ordered, is eliminated. The only condition: The conquest of the new market must promise success in the individual case and above all profits.
Three years time
In any case, everything that costs costs is put to the test. The measures described above are expected to lead to savings of an average of 700 euros per car. Already starting from 800,000 cars the calculations are then reached the profit zone. If it then still works to convince the customers even without big discounts of the purchase, it could succeed, so Lohscheller hopes to reach the given Targets Targets.
Three years Opel has time to write the black, from 2020, the margin should already be two percent. By 2026, it should be six percent. Lohscheller expects annual cost benefits of 1.1 billion euros by 2020 and 1.7 billion by 2026 through the joint venture.
However, Tavares does not leave much room for the Opelians. “It must be very clear that we only made 5 percent and now have 95 percent of the implementation in front of us,” said the manager. “The situation is dramatic, we should say that without any ado.” One should not lose time.
In summary: Under the aegis of the new owner PSA Peugeot Citroën Opel gets another chance. The group now has three years to write a profit, with the margin expected to reach two percent by 2020. But even if there are no layoffs – to a job cuts Opel can not help.