Opel
The car manufacturer has too much staff on board to meet the strict saving requirements of the new parent company PSA.
(Photo: AP)
The troubled carmaker Opel wants to bring about the reduction of jobs as quickly as possible: According to a report of the “Wirtschaftswoche” Rüsselsheimer pay each employee a premium of at least 20,000 euros if they sign a cancellation contract within two months – in addition to a lavish severance pay.
As the magazine continues to report, citing the company’s social plan, the final premium may be significantly higher: a total of four gross monthly salaries will be paid.
More money will also be paid to Opel workers with disabilities or children and employees who come before with the termination agreement of a redundancy notice. Opel did not want to comment on the details of the social plan.
Car manufacturer: Up to 275,000 euros – Opel wants to cut costs with severance payments
Even otherwise, the car maker wants to reduce the personnel costs drastically: So Opel is looking for ways not to pay the upcoming tariff increase to his employees.
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Union circles confirmed on Wednesday a report of the “Wirtschaftswoche”according to which the PSA subsidiary attempts to provisionally suspend the 4.3% salary increase agreed in the metal area tariff. The company declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations.
The money would have to be paid with the April settlement at the end of the next month. On the other hand, a one-off payment of € 100 agreed in March is to be paid out. Opel employs around 19,000 people in Germany.
The General Works Council Chairman Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug had made it clear in the past week that he saw no reason to further concessions of the employees who had already accepted in previous rounds of pay cuts.
Car manufacturer: refurbishment talks at Opel falter
Nonetheless, according to dpa information, the union will try to obtain exact production commitments beyond the existing agreement in the new Opel negotiations. This is particularly urgent for the Eisenach plant, which will be used to build an unspecified SUV from 2019 onwards.
Already on Tuesday it was announced that the car manufacturer in its renovation get rid of even more employees with the help of severance pay want. The new program, which has been agreed with the works council, is aimed at employees in Germany who have not yet been eligible for early retirement or partial retirement already extended in November.
According to information of the “Wirtschaftswoche” per employee up to 275,000 euros gross to be paid. Managers and apprentices should be exempted from the new severance pay. According to the General Works Council, the management had initially proposed significantly lower rates.
The company did not specify targets for total cost of service and the number of people to leave. Even to the already running for months programs early retirement and partial retirement, an Opel spokesman made no specific information. Both are very well received.
Opel has too much staff on board to meet the strict saving requirements of the new parent company PSA, the Opel last August General Motors take over. The refurbishment is scheduled to take place without layoffs and plant closures, PSA boss Carlos Tavares and Opel boss Michael Lohscheller had promised.
The Opel production sites in Europe
In Europe, Opel claims to employ more than 35,600 people, of which more than 19,000 at the German sites Rüsselsheim, Kaiserslautern, Eisenach and in Dudenhofen and Bochum. The automaker is expected to deliver an operating profit of two percent of sales in 2020. Severance payments would then already be recorded as a restructuring expense and would not further burden the PSA balance sheet.