2009 December, 10th

Mihaela Lica

Daimler’s (DAI:GY) most brilliant PR move of the year was announced today by AFP – the luxury car maker told 37,000 workers at Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen that their jobs are safe until the end of 2019 and that there will even be 2,000 more new jobs created in the near future. Daimler reached an accord with worker’s representatives to rule out firings for economic reasons for the next ten years. The company will also improve conditions for early retirement and it won’t limit the number of older employees allowed to work part-time starting in 2015.

“Due to attractive job possibilities for the employees affected in Sindelfingen and the decision to produce the next generation of the E-Class and the S-Class in Sindelfingen, it will be possible to do without layoffs for operating reasons at the Sindelfingen plant until December 31, 2019.” – the company stated in a press release.

This gives workers peace of mind and creates a more stable working environment at Mercedes-Benz Singelfingen. The employees at this facility were worried about their future earlier this month, when Daimler shifted production of its new C-Class (beginning with 2014) cars to northern Bremen and to and its plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama US (where Daimler also plans to hire more than 1,000 workers for C-Class production). The move aimed to bring production closer to main sales regions and to reduce exposure to currency fluctuations. Sindelfingen will remain the main manufacturer of Daimler’s most expensive Mercedes’ E- and S-Class models, and sport coupes.

Moving production in Alabama scared the German labor unions, who prefer to retain production in Germany. But Daimler argued that moving production would help protect employment at German sites.

“With the decision on our new plant for compact cars in Hungary, the reorganization of C-Class production as of 2014, and the production commitment for the E-Class and the S-Class, we have set the course for the future of our key models. This long-term strategic planning will give us additional growth opportunities and will make a significant contribution towards improving our competitiveness.” Daimler’s Chairman Dieter Zetsche explained. He added: “This is the best way to protect jobs in Germany over the long term.”

The deal with the workers at Sindelfingen, Daimler’s largest production facility since 1915, followed:

“We are glad that despite what in our view was the wrong decision by management, jobs at Singelfingen can be protected over such a long period,” said Erich Klemm, head of Daimler’s work committee.

• 2009/10/19 -- Germany and the World Sell Their Industrial Heritage
• 2009/10/02 -- Mercedes Benz Sales Still Plummeting, And It’s No Wonder
• 2009/09/09 -- Mercedes S Class On Sale In China, But How About Mercedes Service?
• 2009/08/27 -- Customer Consciousness – Toyota Recalling Over 95,700 Vehicles Sold in US
• 2009/07/18 -- Germany’s Mercedes-Benz Hess GmbH, Part Three
• 2009/07/17 -- Mercedes-Benz Hess GmbH Customer Support Test, Part Two

About the Author

Mihaela Lica is senior partner at Pamil Visions PR and editor at Everything PR. She is a widely cited authority on search engine optimization and public relations issues (BBC News, Force for Good, Reuters and others), with an experience of over 7 years in online PR and SEO. Mihaela writes for SitePoint, Search Engine Journal, and other online publications. She also maintains a personal blog called eWritings. Follow Mig on Twitter or send her an email at mig [at] pamil-visions [dot] com.

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