Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes is carrying out extensive job-cut and severance programs that leave employees torn between shame, anxiety about status and the need for financial reorientation. Reports show both drastic personal upheavals and cases in which severance payments enable fresh starts, such as taking over a café. Trade unionists and economists warn of wear-down tactics, the loss of key skilled workers and long-term risks for the industry. » Plus sur zeit.de

Ola Källenius faces a deep crisis at Mercedes after seven years in office: the passenger car operating margin was only 1.9 percent in the first half of the year, and global sales of the C-, E- and S‑Class fell by 7 percent to around 837,000 vehicles. After initially launching tough cost-cutting programs and a clear focus on electric and luxury models, Källenius later shifted from a fixed strategy to tactical flexibility, leaving his leadership profile unclear. His contract runs until May 2029; the balance sheet of his tenure is discussed on the podcast manager magazin INSIDE. » Plus sur manager-magazin.de

US Governor Gretchen Whitmer asked Baden-Württemberg’s minister president Cem Özdemir in a letter to urge Mercedes management to respect workers' rights at the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plant. The request follows allegations by the UAW that the May 2024 vote was distorted by impermissible interference; Mercedes denies the allegations. In March Mercedes reached an agreement with the National Labor Relations Board that, among other things, included a promise not to threaten plant closures, while stressing it had not admitted wrongdoing. The plant is strategically important for Mercedes’ US expansion and, if organized by the UAW, could significantly change wages, benefits and worker representation. » Plus sur manager-magazin.de