Mercedes-Benz freezes German investment, weighs plant closures

Mercedes-Benz has frozen further investment at its German sites and is examining possible plant closures if negotiations with employee representatives fail to reduce costs. The company has not named any site for closure, and the review is conditional on the outcome of talks.

Michael Schiebe, the board member responsible for production, said in an internal workforce interview that the executive board had jointly decided to halt further investment in Germany. He said management could not identify a way forward with employee representatives despite intensive discussions, and would examine which sites might have to close if the cost structure did not change.

Schiebe said Mercedes-Benz still wanted future vehicle generations to be built at German locations. He warned that new models could instead be produced abroad if the company and employee representatives did not agree on cost changes. The company has not announced an immediate factory closure or a transfer of all German production.

The dispute includes management’s proposed productivity measures, among them longer working hours without additional pay. Board member Britta Seeger said those measures had not secured agreement. IG...