DPA
Rüsselsheim headquarters: Employees must expect short-time work or even the discontinuation of a full shift in the coming year
The models Insignia and Zafira apparently sell worse. Therefore, Opel has a substantial personnel overhang at its headquarters in Rüsselsheim, it says in a press release. Now short-time working or even one-shift operation threatens in the coming year.
The car manufacturer Opel is apparently considering short-time work at its headquarters in Rüsselsheim. Due to weak demand for the models Insignia and Zafira have the daughter of the French parent company PSA Peugeot Citroën Show stock market chart their production plans for the coming year screwed down by about 10,000 units, reports the “Handelsblatt” on Monday, citing business circles.
The labor surplus in production adds up to more than 600 employees. “We are heading for massive overcapacity,” the newspaper quoted from group circles.
The management is therefore considering countermeasures: there is short-time working in the area, and the plant could also be switched from a two-shift operation to a one-shift operation. A company spokesman described the report as “pure speculation”.
Also conversion to single-shift operation is conceivable
At the same time the company pointed out that it regularly adapts its production planning in the individual plants to current market forecasts. To relax the situation, Opel urgently needs a new model for Rüsselsheim. So far, the commitment of the parent company PSA is missing.
At the head office of Opel, some 15,000 employees worked until recently, about half of them at the development center. The production counted around 3000 workers. However, jobs have also been reduced there in recent months.
Also read: PSA ruled by Opel in the top floorThe “heart of Opel” continues in Rüsselsheim
Opel recently agreed to partner with the French service provider Segula Technologies for the development center. As part of this, 2000 of the total of 7,000 engineers in Rüsselsheim should switch to Segula,
As the newspaper further reports, the French parent company also attracts more power. Anke Felder, who works for Opel as Labor Director, loses part of her responsibility and decision-making power to PSA HR chief Xavier Chereau through new hierarchical HR responsibilities in key markets such as the UK, Spain and France. The changes are significant. It concerns the reporting authority over a quarter of the more than 30,000 employees of Opel.
rei / Reuters