Mannheim/Neu-Ulm (dpa/lby) – The head of the Group Works Council at Daimler Trucks, Michael Brecht, has warned the Evobus management against playing the domestic and foreign locations off against each other. Brecht said on Friday in Mannheim: “We warn against a one-sided fixation on wage costs and the attempt to start a competition between the German locations and the foreign plants.” The management of Evobus is expected to develop constructive proposals to increase efficiency and profitability for the two locations in Mannheim and Neu-Ulm so that they can remain competitive in the long term.
In order to save costs, Daimler Truck wants to relocate part of the bus production abroad. The locations of the subsidiary Evobus in Mannheim and Neu-Ulm are not generally up for discussion, the group said in the summer. According to IG Metall Mannheim, around 1,000 employees in production and 500 in administration would be threatened. The location with a total of 8500 employees is one of the largest employers in the city.
The chairman of the works council in Mannheim, Bruno Buschbacher, said at an employee information that the plans would be a huge blow for the local industrial site. Instead of showing real prospects for the future, the sole bet is on the job cuts. According to a group spokesman, the company is in talks in which socially acceptable solutions for the employees are being sought.
