The works council and Executive Board of battered car manufacturer Opel have agreed on a recovery plan. This was shared by Opel General Works council. As part of agreed compromise, French parent company PSA Peugeot Citroën is investing in new models and utilization of works of Eisenach, Rüsselsheim and Kaiserslautern. In return, works council approved deletion of 3,700 bodies requested by PPE.
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The dismantling should take place on a voluntary basis through partial retirement, early retirement and severance payments, General Works council shared. For all or more than 18,000 employees, a protection against dismissal was agreed by summer of 2023.
The decisions were an important milestone on road to making Opel competitive, said CEO Michael Lohscheller. As part of agreement, workforce waives certain components of tariff closing agreed in metal and electrical industry in spring. The details of recovery plan are now to be negotiated inTarifverträgen and operational agreements between DerGewerkschaft and management.
Red numbers for almost 20 years
“It is good that we have been able to communicate over a long-term protection of dismissal. Now it is possible to regain some peace of mind, “said chairman of works, Wolfgang Schäfer-Kluge. IG-Metall-district manager Jörg Köhlinger evaluated agreement as an important milestone.
In event of a failure of talks, IG Metall had previously threatened to escalate conflict. Both sides last disputed about a severance program. The works council accused Opel management of putting future of Opel at risk with a downsizing in Germany. In order to re-launch talks, Opel set up voluntary severance program.
Last year, PSA had acquired Opel from General Motors. In doing so, group had promised not to close any works in Germany and to refrain from dismissals. Already under US parent company, thousands of jobs were dismantled and vehicle factories in Bochum and Antwerp were closed. Opel has been making losses for almost 20 years.
