Short-time work for 6 months: Opel presses with all means against dismissals

09/01/2018

Short-time work for 6 months
Opel is using all means against dismissals

REUTERS

Opel in Rüsselsheim: At the headquarters, the administration and development of short-time work is affected

Fewer temporary workers, earlier retirement and from now six months short-time working – Opel tries everything to avoid redundancies. In the UK, on the other hand, the French parent company PSA continues to cancel jobs.

An expected six-month short-time work will begin at the Opel plant in Rüsselsheim this week. The Federal Employment Agency approved this, explained a company spokesman on Monday evening. The management and works council had agreed on short-time working at the company’s headquarters in consultation with IG Metall. Affected are both product development and administrative areas.

The short-time work had already been agreed in December in order to reduce the workload at the German sites currently still around 19,000. This should avoid layoffs in the car maker acquired by the French PSA Group.

In the British Vauxhall works, however, the parent company deleted another 250 jobs. In Ellesmere Port there will be only one shift from April, PSA had informed Monday. Already in October, the group had announced the reduction of 400 jobs there. This corresponded to about a quarter of the workforce. The model Astra is being built in the factory.

Less temporary workers, earlier retirement

Short-time work is not the only measure in Rüsselsheim: For example, Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller announced in December to extend the partial retirement program to the birth year 1960. There are also early retirement rules for employees 36 months before earliest possible retirement. The agreement between management and works council also provides for a significant reduction in the number of temporary workers in the Rüsselsheim and Kaiserslautern production plants.

Peugeot boss Tavares: Opel turnaround could take longer

Following the takeover by the PSA Group, Opel employees in Germany will be protected from layoffs until the end of 2018. Also, plant closures are initially not provided.

The restructuring program “Pace” is intended to bring the German car manufacturer back into profitability. It also focuses on new technologies and ideas. At the headquarters in Rüsselsheim, global competence centers are to be created for the entire PSA group. The first tasks are the development of fuel cells, selected assistance systems and technologies for automated driving.

rei / dpa / Reuters

Short-time work for 6 months Opel is using all means against dismissals

Short-time work for 6 months
Opel is using all means against dismissals