In the dispute over the renovation Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller has called on the employees to waive allowances. “We want to invest in all German locations and will do so – if we are competitive,” he said.
Opel boss Michael Lohscheller
Friday, 20.04.2018
10:56
at Opel The management and workers are struggling for concessions in the context of the reorganization. Opel boss Michael Lohscheller insists on concessions from the employees. Otherwise, there would be no chance to make the German works competitive, he told the VRM newspapers. “In concrete terms, I am concerned with the crediting of the superannuation allowances, and I find it difficult to say that a company in such an economic situation is still paying in excess of tariffs in many areas,” said Lohscheller. It’s about high sums.
“We want to invest in all German locations and will do so – if we are competitive,” said Lohscheller. Opel management’s suggestion that the upcoming tariff increase of 4.3 percent be scheduled for the refurbishment phase, had rejected the works council and IG Metall on several occasions, It will take effect now.
IG Metall accuses Opel of putting pressure on workers with the threat of job cuts in order to reach concessions in the ongoing negotiations on the utilization of the plants. Works Council Leader Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug said on Thursday, the previous proposals of the French parent company PSA would only see the construction of a vehicle model for the assembly plant in Eisenach. This would be with one Halving the workforce connected to 700 to 1000 employees.
Opel is currently trying to massively reduce its costs under pressure from PSA. Also IG metal boss Jörg Hofmann interfered in the discussion. The PSA management must “finally make clear how it wants to conquer new market shares with new products of the Opel brand,” said Hofmann the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “But for all our questions, we get no answers from Paris.” On the part of PSA there are “threatening gestures”, but no convincing strategies.
Above all, the union leader demanded clarity about the German Opel locations. “What we need now are reliable plans for the utilization of the plants,” said Hofmann.