SINDELFINGEN (dpa-AFX) - Ergun Lümali, head of the overall works council at Mercedes, has spoken out about the mood among employees at the Stuttgart-based automaker ahead of upcoming works council elections. "The mood among the workforce is tense," Lümali told the "Stuttgarter Zeitung," "Stuttgarter Nachrichten," and "Kreiszeitung Böblinger Bote."
"Declines in sales, revenue, and profit are unsettling for many, as such developments are usually accompanied by cost-cutting measures," said Lümali, who is also chairman of the works council at the Sindelfingen site. He added that economic pressures, especially from China and the USA, are causing further concern. "As a location highly dependent on exports, we feel the impact of trade barriers directly," Lümali said.
Sindelfingen is also under pressure in terms of efficiency, speed, and cost savings. "What we will not accept, however, are decisions made by force, over the heads of employees, that could endanger new project launches and the future viability of the site," Lümali stated. For this, he said, "we quickly need transparency, clear objectives, and binding agreements with the works council."
According to Mercedes, more than 30,000 people work at the plant in Sindelfingen near Stuttgart, which was founded in 1915. The site is home to the production of the S-Class, among others.
The DAX-listed company saw its profit nearly halve last year. Mercedes had already recorded a significant drop in profits in 2024. In response, the automaker implemented a savings program to restore profitability./rwi/DP/zb
