Daimler site in Sindelfingen
With its Chinese investor Geely, the group will build four-cylinder gasoline engines on a grand scale in the Far East instead of in Europe from 2024.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich, Frankfurt As the top representative of more than 170,000 employees in Germany, Daimler works council boss Michael Brecht is one of the most powerful trade unionists in the republic. The 55-year-old is considered a tough but level-headed negotiator who somehow comes to terms with even the most stubborn manager and in the end reaches a compromise.
The result: Since Brecht was promoted to workers’ leader at the Mercedes manufacturer in 2014, there has been quiet harmony in Stuttgart. That was different for the car manufacturer for a long time. Under Brecht’s predecessor Erich Klemm, the management and the workforce representatives fought like tinkers for years.
But now there is a risk of a relapse into times that were believed to be forgotten. Because Brecht, who is actually aiming for harmony, accuses the eight-member Daimler board member around CEO Ola Källenius of willfully endangering the peace of the company by taking excessive austerity measures.
“The board is overshooting the mark. The workforce is not the enemy, ”said Brecht to the Handelsblatt. The deputy head of the supervisory board of the DAX group complains that the arguments of the works councils are sometimes no longer heard by the management. The relationship to one another is therefore tense. “A relationship in which you refuse to approach each other doesn’t last long. We are at a critical point, ”states Brecht.
The latest point of contention: Daimler and its Chinese investor Geely will be building four-cylinder gasoline engines on a grand scale in the Far East instead of in Europe from 2024. “It is important for us that the German locations are given a fair chance when it comes to far-reaching product decisions such as the new generation of engines and that they are taken into account when the bid is accepted,” explained Brecht: “That was not the case here.”
Cooperation with Geely causes controversy
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