Opel plant in Rüsselsheim
The headquarters is missing a second model – now threatens short-time working.
Munich One week to assemble cars, the next compulsory break: hundreds Opel-Employees must soon get used to this rhythm. After all, the traditional vehicle manufacturer wants to let the majority of its 2,600 employees work for months at its headquarters in Rüsselsheim.
Management and works council have agreed in principle on this, the Handelsblatt learned from group circles. A request for short-time working has been submitted to the Federal Employment Agency.
“The Opel Automobile GmbH has announced short-time work for the Rüsselsheim plant with the responsible employment agency. The short-time work should begin this month and last six months, “confirmed a company spokesman Handelsblatt.
Opel wants to resort to the instrument to counteract the massive underutilization of its Hessian factory. The affected employees have to adjust to wage losses. The car manufacturer plans to switch to a one-shift operation in the next six months, the late shift should be temporarily eliminated.
Background of the measure to reduce working hours is the weak demand of customers for the sedan Insignia. The actual flagship of the brand with the lightning suffers from a massive sales decline. Sold Opel in the first half of 2018 still about 43,000 units of mid-size passenger cars, there were just six months in 2019, just 29,500. This corresponds to a decline of more than 31 percent.
“Socially acceptable bridge solution”
Due to the poor sales figures, the market researchers of IHS assume that Opel will almost halve the annual production of the Insignia 2019 – from the former 95,000 to just 52,000 units. So that sales dents on individual models do not fully impact on production, many vehicle manufacturers usually produce at least two different makes in one plant. Also Opel did this in Rüsselsheim for years. In summer, however, the production of the van Zafira ran out.
Only in 2021 to run with the new Astra again a second model in Rüsselsheim by the band. Until then, Opel wants to avoid operational redundancies with instruments such as short-time working. The now agreed short-time working as a “socially acceptable bridge solution,” said a company spokesman. But that alone is far from enough.
Already at the end of June, Opel decided 600 mechanics in its parent plant on severance, retirement and early retirement in the next few years to reduce, The capacity of the factory in Rüsselsheim should also shrink in the course of the start-up of the new Astra.
Instead of 60 vehicles as before then only a maximum of 40 cars per hour can run off the conveyor belt. Opel emphasizes that the future of the Rüsselsheim plant is not endangered, but will be secured in the long term by investing in the Astra.