Rainer Strack: The crisis in the labor surprising 2030 - and how to start solving now
Gloomy new figures and forecasts about the fate of the German automotive industry are emerging on an almost daily.
The auto industry is the backbone of German industry's employment of a seventh of the workforce depend on car production, which has been particularly affected by the international financial crisis Wednesday the Federation of the German automotive industry VDA published its prognosis for the coming period, according to the president of VDA Matthias Wissmann, auto markets have taken a nose dive with unprecedented speed and development.
The Federation believes that in the coming year domestic sales of new cars will tend to 2 9 million, which would be the lowest total since the reunification of Germany in 1990 the automotive industry analyst Ferdinand Dudenhöffer plans also a dramatic drop in sales 8 2 percent in 2009 According Dudenhöffer is an absolute nadir in the development of the German car market.
Dudenhöffer think 100,000 jobs are in danger next year In 2009, 20,000 jobs will be paid by companies and the German automotive suppliers and, in addition, the number of temporary workers could be reduced by 80 000 This decrease will also have a drastic impact auto dealers - up to a quarter of all sales areas should close.
In November car sales in Germany fell 18 percent in November 2007, according to figures from official sources.
In response to the current economic crisis, all German car companies have reduced production of mass layoffs and the closure of entire factories are being considered.
Opel was the most affected German companies because of the crisis concern parent, General Motors, the US European sales of the company have nearly collapsed In November the company announced it had sold nearly 36 percent fewer cars in Germany than a year ago the production has already been stopped in the factories of the company in Bochum and Eisenach for several weeks and new production cuts, which could last December or even any, are in preparation for.
The reaction of the major automotive unions, IG Metall and the works council to the crisis was to volunteer a pay cut of 15 percent for Opel workers Preparation of the Union to offer concessions only encouraged the company management to undertake new and more attacks negotiations have already begun to Bochum on a new set of job and pay cuts for workers fear plant that such cuts could be part of a process to close the plant altogether.
Daimler sales suffered 30 percent decline in November of the previous year, with sales of its Mercedes-Benz brand down 38 percent 2 According to media reports, massive cuts and rationalization are provided for the Daimler company intends to produce 150,000 cars under Mercedes 2009 and developing a savings of short-term work program costs is in the cards for the main production plant in Sindelfingen Mercedes car from January.
The central section of the Mercedes Car Group, i e Mercedes Benz Smart and Maybach, was particularly affected a number of management consulting companies have been charged with developing ideas to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
The final savings program in the base section was implemented between 2005 and 2007. The program has increased the turnover of the company by a total of 7 1 billion the same time, 10,000 jobs been destroyed.
According to the journal of the Automobilwoche industry, Daimler intends to reduce production of its popular S-Class Mercedes per 18,000 vehicles and the E-Class with 34000 in 2009.
In addition, management plans to halt production for a week in February and six additional days at Easter Daimler is already strangling their production, and production lines in Sindelfingen are provided to stop from 12 December to 12 January .
BMW, concern for the automobile based Bavaria, recorded a sales decline of about 21 percent in November compared to the same month in 2007 losses to its core BMW brand rose 36 percent and 1 was offset the decline of society somewhat by increased sales for the Mini range of cars from BMW plans to produce 25,000 fewer cars in 2009; in the last days this target was increased to 40,000 vehicles less.
According to local press in Munich location from the BMW headquarters the Christmas holidays and the concern will begin next Monday until January 9 Production will also stop for a month at the BMW plant in Regensburg, at the end of workers year relatively new company's Leipzig plant have been told to stay at home for several days.
BMW announced the axing of more than 8,000 jobs, including 5,000 temporary workers According to media reports, a second wave of dismissals of at least 2500 workers is already underway.
At Ford, the Cologne plant workers worked short since 3 November and the company has already begun to cancel the contracts of temporary staff There is speculation that the company plans to close its Cologne engine plant altogether, with the loss of 750 jobs the company used the threat of moving production of its latest model of the Ford Fusion Cologne Romania to extort new concessions from the Ford workforce currently employs total of 23,600 workers at its two German plants in Cologne and Saarlouis.
Volkswagen sold nearly 19 percent fewer cars in November on an annual basis in the year the company plans to stop production for three weeks, from 18 December to 11 January Workers will need to use overtime accumulated or take compulsory vacation stopping production is planned for the main plant of the company in Wolfsburg, where the models Golf, Touran and Tiguan are produced such a move would inevitably have an effect of affecting supply facilities VW in Kassel and Salzgitter.
Even the sports car manufacturer the most successful of Germany, Porsche, has been hit hard by the crisis sales of new Porsche cars fell in the US in October to 50 percent compared to the previous year In November vehicle sales of the company decreased overall by 21 percent.
Production was throttled back and the lines to the main Stuttgart construction company in Zuffenhausen are now standing still additional stops are planned for January.
The crisis has also forced Porsche to rethink its strategy of trying to catch his rival Volkswagen Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking said recently Given the present economic situation, it is increasingly unlikely that we can achieve this goal this Porsche year still determined to go ahead with plans for a 75 percent in VW, but now the time is not known.
At their most recent press conference, Porsche officials have reported a sharp drop in sales during the first four months of the current year, from August 2008, turnover was down 2 36 billion to euro barely two billion, which represents a decrease in revenues of about 20 percent compared to the previous year.
Nevertheless, Porsche shareholders were able to reap substantial premiums because of speculation in the market shares of the company on its existing share of Volkswagen company profits before taxes increased this year by almost three billion euros a total of 8 to 57 billion euros only part of this increase came from the actual sales of its cars the rest was obtained by the company on the stock market game.
Regardless of the current crisis, Porsche executives themselves royally rewarded for the year 2007-2008 Les six board members received a total of 143 5 million euros in Porsche boss Wiedeking of remuneration pocketed 75 and 80 million of this total in 2006 les six managers Porsche makes 112 EUR 7 million.
The crisis of the German automotive industry will have devastating consequences for a wide range of concerns of suppliers and subsidiaries These companies employ a total of 328,000 workers, nearly half of all jobs in the auto industry last year the total turnover of these companies amounted to 76 billion euro.
Not only suppliers produce nearly 80 percent of a modern car, they are also responsible for the development and production of all components and complex systems.
The largest of these companies Bosch, ZF Friedrichshafen, the specialist Mahle piston, the manufacturer of radiator Behr, Brakes Knorr, Brose and Hella employ thousands of workers every Furthermore, there are 600 small only suppliers in Germany These small businesses feel the effects of the financial crisis and the crisis in auto sales directly and intensely producers are cutting back on orders and the hard-hit banking sector is reluctant to offer credit to enable these companies to keep their heads above the 'water.
At the end of November, the insolvency of the supplier Stankiewicz GmbH Gimotive This was averted at the last minute The company employs 1,300 workers and produces soundproofing, linings for a number of automakers .
Already, cuts and short-term work were introduced to a host of automotive supply companies Goodyear Dunlop group announced an extended holiday at the end of the year in all six of its plants tires in Germany, and the contracts of its temporary workers will not be extended.
Bosch, the largest automotive supplier in the world, has introduced short-time working at its plants in Bamberg Rommelsbach, affecting some 4000 employees The production cuts are also being negotiated with the advice of work to company's other factories.
The weekend Continental announced it would introduce part-time work for thousands of employees The Schaeffler Group, which employs 50,000 workers in Germany and plans to take over Continental, is reducing its investments in the year come and did not rule out short-time work as a first step, the company plans to make the jobs of 1,700 part-time workers.
Although tens of thousands of workers to a range of factories across Germany now find their jobs at risk in the context of a global crisis, trade unions and works councils refuse to organize any kind of struggle common, they are rather closely cooperate with management to play one against the other workers at home and abroad to facilitate business drastic rationalization plans.
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