Ola Källenius
Unlike Lufthansa, for example, the Daimler boss currently excludes direct financial injections from the federal government.
(Photo: imago images / rheinmainfoto)
Munich, Frankfurt Daimler-Boss Ola Källenius wants the Stuttgart automaker with the greatest possible flexibility and solidarity through the corona crisis bring. Although the Mercedes manufacturer had to stop production in Europe and parts of North America, the jobs of the approximately 300,000 employees are not in danger, Källenius assured in an interview with the Handelsblatt: “The security of the jobs is not under discussion.”
In times of the pandemic, society must stick together, said the 50-year-old in a telephone conversation lasting over an hour. “Against the background, I found Chancellor speech Angela Merkel very good. ”Källenius praises the actions of the federal government: “The decisions are made with a sense of proportion.”
Different from that Lufthansa Källenius currently excludes direct financial injections from the federal government. “Daimler currently does not need state aid,” said the manager. “We are solidly equipped with a high level of liquidity.” At the same time, the Swede announces that he wants to shorten the working hours of his production employees. “In Germany Politicians are reactivating the regulation on short-time work, and we will use it. “
The annual general meeting originally scheduled for early April had to Daimler Although postponed to the summer, the Group’s shareholders should then receive a profit sharing of 90 cents per share for the 2019 financial year as planned. “Our proposal for a dividend has been made and there is no reason to change anything at this point,” said Källenius.
When proceeding in the corona crisis, the Daimler boss is guided by the experiences his group has had in China. After a production stop, Mercedes plans to manufacture cars in the Far East again with a capacity utilization of almost 100 percent in a few weeks.
The reason: “The vast majority of our dealers have opened again, the customers are returning,” says Källenius: “Every day, more people come to the dealerships. Demand is picking up, which makes us optimistic. “
Read the full interview here:
Mr. Källenius, how do you manage a global corporation like Daimler in times of the corona pandemic? We make sure that we remain able to act. I have zeroed my travel activities. We have divided the board into two teams that do not meet under any circumstances. If one of the eight of us becomes infected, not all of them are affected. Most of the administrative staff are in the home office. But I come to the office and communicate with employees all over the world via video conference and telephone.
You had to shut down production in the European plants. How hard does this affect your company? First of all, with this step we are making a contribution to curbing the spread of the corona virus. We want to help break the chain of infection and protect our employees. But Daimler must also act from a company perspective: With this measure, we bring sales and production in line. Many dealers in Europe and North America had to close or severely restrict their operations. We feel that in weaker demand. We have already seen this development in China. In the further course of action, we orientate ourselves on this experience in order to maneuver Daimler as best as possible through this exceptional situation.
How does the production stop actually work? First we close two weeks in Europe. However, we have the flexibility to extend this measure over time. We don’t know at the moment how long the corona crisis will last.
Are you going to apply for short-time work allowance for production employees in Germany? In Germany, politicians are reactivating the short-time work regulation, and we will use it.
Will you also cut production in the United States? They manufacture many SUVs and commercial vehicles there, which we are currently evaluating together with the local authorities. We will make an individual decision for each plant, and we are now shutting down the plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Is Daimler considering applying for state aid? Corporations like Lufthansa are considering this, we have not discussed such a step. Daimler currently does not need state aid. Generally speaking, the industry had a very good order situation before this crisis. If companies need support in this special situation, the state must act.
Would Daimler help suppliers if this became necessary? We are in constant discussions with our suppliers and coordinate with them. So far, there has been no case where liquidity was an issue.
But how long can Daimler economically endure this state of emergency? At some point even your cash register will be empty if no new cars are sold. We are solidly equipped with a high level of liquidity. In the coming weeks, the focus will now be on managing this situation and securing liquidity. However, if this state of affairs persists for longer, then investments would have to be reconsidered. Basically, we’re in good shape, so I’m not worried.
You want to distribute a dividend of EUR 963 million to your shareholders. Is this plan still in place or do you prefer to keep the money in the company now? Our proposal for a dividend has been made and there is no need to change anything at this point.
Nevertheless, the world is facing a recession with the corona pandemic. How do you and Daimler adjust to this? Two key words: solidarity and flexibility. As citizens and as a society, we have to stick together to overcome this crisis. Against the background, I found Chancellor Angela Merkel’s speech very good. She got to the heart of solidarity very well. For us as a company, flexibility is now crucial. We need to be able to react quickly, like we did when we shut down the factories. If there is a quick recovery, we have to start up the factories very quickly. In China we are almost back to normal.
Is such optimism appropriate? The forecasts of the economic experts are sometimes bleak; I am not an economist myself. I have to rely on what the experts predict. I saw a broad spectrum, from a rapid recovery in the global economy to a long and profound recession. Everyone has good arguments for their forecast. It is therefore very difficult to say what is really going to happen.
China is your main single market. What was the current situation in terms of production there? With the New Year celebrations at the end of January, China had introduced sharp measures to contain the wave of infections. The country is five to six weeks ahead of the rest of the world. After a production stop, we now start up again in a controlled manner. In a few weeks we will be back with almost 100 percent load.
And what is the demand doing? The Chinese car market collapsed by more than 40 percent in January and February, with the vast majority of our dealers reopening and customers returning. Every day more people come to the car dealerships. Demand is picking up, which makes us optimistic.
China’s government intervened very rigidly after the Corona outbreak. How do you rate the crisis management of Western countries in comparison? I have never experienced such a situation in my life. I find the procedure particularly very good for the Federal Government. The decisions are made with a sense of proportion. We as citizens and managers have to stick to it, that’s right. The central banks have also taken important steps by providing the economy with sufficient liquidity.
Do you need another stimulus to help the economy? In previous crises, the federal government pushed car sales with a scrapping premium for used vehicles, and it is too early to think about further individual measures. In principle, however, tax breaks would help everyone in the country.
From this year, manufacturers should pay fines if the CO2 emissions of their cars sold in Europe exceed a certain threshold. Are these emission guidelines also accessible to Daimler in the current environment? We do everything to achieve the EU’s CO2 targets.
Allegedly, some manufacturers have knocked on the EU Commission to postpone the new emission rules. What do you think about it? We are not one of those who tried to change the emissions guidelines.