Stuttgart, Frankfurt Daimler-Boss Ola Källenius is on Tuesday before his most important appearance so far: When presenting the annual balance sheet, he has to explain to investors how he wants to make the car manufacturer future-proof. After three profit warnings in a short time, many investors are upset, trust in the successor of Dieter Zetsche has shrunk.
Against growing criticism, KPresent ällenius with an ambitious future plan, As the Handelsblatt has learned from corporate circles, the Swede relies on a mix of investments in sustainable luxury vehicles and hard austerity. Contrary to what was previously rumored, he did not want to cut 10,000 jobs, but wanted to part with up to 15,000 employees through severance payments, early retirement and partial retirement.
The savings volume should significantly exceed the known volume of 1.4 billion euros, it said. Daimler did not comment on it. Investments in loss-making projects are also to be curtailed. For example, Daimler is looking for a majority owner for its Lab1886 innovation center.
The model range is also to be thinned out. In addition to the end of production of the flopped X-Class platform truck, Källenius decided that neither the S-Class Cabrio nor the S-Class Coupé would be given a successor. On top of that, the future of the B-Class is obviously uncertain.
There is great unrest among the workers. Works council chief Michael Brecht demands that, in addition to a savings program, Källenius must above all present a clear forward strategy: “We have a mood between anger and disappointment among the workforce. People want orientation and clarity, ”he told the Handelsblatt. It is now the task of the Executive Board to make the group strategy more visible.
Daimler as an ecological pioneer
Beer serious, Scandinavian cool to deal with: Many Daimler managers know their boss, the Swede Ola Källenius. But the 50-year-old blond boy can do it very differently. At the beginning of January, Källenius grinned on one of the largest stages that the gambling metropolis Las Vegas had to offer. In the MGM Theater Park, the manager delivers one of the keynote speeches at the technology fair CES,
Källenius comes out as a “real film freak”. Inspired by the blockbuster “Avatar”, he even instructed his troupe to design a Mercedes concept vehicle with star director James Cameron that is second to none. The Daimler boss raves about the presentation of the “AVTR” vision of the “Zero Impact Car” – a car that doesn’t burden the climate and nature a bit.
In these minutes in Las Vegas, Källenius is in his element as an ecological pioneer. But his vision is not likely to come closer to reality in one or two decades. The here and now looks different. Källenius heads a group that paralyzes itself and thus slips deeper and deeper into a crisis. So far, Källenius has not presented any real plan in his nine-month term as to where he wants to head Daimler.
Employees and investors alike are unsettled. When the friendly Scandinavian goes public, it is mostly to spread flowery visions of the future. He avoids critical demand. Källenius has not yet arrived in his role.
“He did not fill the power vacuum left by his predecessor Dieter Zetsche,” said a senior manager. At least until now.
At the balance sheet press conference on Tuesday, Källenius wants to initiate a turnaround and position Daimler more clearly. The pressure to act is high. Because the construction sites in the Stuttgart auto industry are diverse: In the group’s finance department, a bitter power struggle is raging, according to group circles. The lack of battery cells in sufficient quality means that the electric offensive is becoming a “farce” and the diesel scandal is never ending.
On Tuesday, the Daimler boss will announce a slump in profits and will have to cut the dividend drastically. As a consequence, Källenius will now tighten the austerity measures at the automaker.
For this purpose, the manager not only wants to cut around 10,000 jobs, but also to cut up to 15,000 employees, as it was said in corporate circles. The volume of cost reductions for personnel is likely to rise to well over 1.4 billion euros.
Loss-making projects away from the core business are therefore sorted out and the model range is thinned out. Neither S-Class Cabrio nor S-Class Coupé get a successor, it is said in corporate circles. CLS and the four-door GT from AMG are to be merged into one electric coupé.
The B-Class in its current form threatens to end. Daimler discusses converting the compact model into a crossover under a different name.