December 17, 2020 – Mercedes-Benz AG is taking another step towards the transformation of the company. In this way, the company has decided to phase out production at the passenger car assembly plant in Iracémapolis. The decision has been made on the basis of various factors including the market framework in Brazil.
The company is looking at a possible future prospect for the site and its 370 employees. Mercedes-Benz will develop alternatives to support employees, including the possibility of a voluntary separation program and other alternatives that will be evaluated in the near future.
The economic situation in Brazil has been difficult for many years and worsened due to the Covid-19 pandemic, causing a decrease in premium cars sales. In the course of our transformation process, we continue with the restructuring of our global production network. Increasing our efficiency by optimizing capacity utilization is an important lever. That’s why we decided to phase out the production of passenger cars in Brazil. Our first aim now is to find a sustainable solution for the employees at the site, who have made a decisive contribution to the success of Mercedes-Benz in Brazil with their commitment and expertise in recent years.
Daimler AG remains committed to Brazil as the company still maintains a strong footprint, e.g. with the production sites in São Bernardo do Campo (Trucks & Buses Chassis) and Juiz de Fora (Trucks Cabins).
About Iracemápolis plant
With 370 employees, the Iracemápolis plant (São Paulo) has been responsible for the production of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan and the Mercedes-Benz GLA. The Mercedes-Benz passenger car volume produced in the Iracemápolis plant will be shifted to other plants within the global production network. Around 50 sales outlets continue to offer attractive Mercedes-Benz cars to the customers in the Brazilian market.