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Stuttgart (dpa) - The Daimler parent plant in Stuttgart is said to be the Group's most important location for drive technology, even in the electric age.
The group is investing more than 400 million euros in building the “Mercedes-Benz Drive Systems Campus” in Untertürkheim.
As in the past with internal combustion engines, the plant will in future also be the benchmark for the global production network for electric drives, as Daimler announced on Friday.
The company and works council had previously spent months negotiating the future of the location with its around 18,000 employees.
In the long term, however, the project will still cost jobs - how many is open.
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Daimler Research Director Markus Schäfer, who is also responsible for the operational business of the Mercedes-Benz car division, spoke of a "historic day", and works council chief Michael Häberle also said: "There are no losers."
Untertürkheim is now to get significantly more electrical tasks than originally planned.
Among other things, the production capacity for the so-called electronic drive train will be doubled.
In addition, Daimler intends to manufacture its own battery cells in the future - even if only in small series, primarily for test fleets.
The group sticks to the view that its own large-scale production is not worthwhile.
Because the construction of electric drives tends to require fewer employees than that of combustion engines, the utilization of the site was the sticking point in the negotiations.
The works council had vehemently blocked the withdrawal of combustion technology to make room for the electrical campus without compensation for the work that was lost.
There are now.
For this, for example, crankshaft production actually has to give way in parts.
It will be relocated to Jawor, Poland.
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"In principle, we have always agreed with the works council that the transformation must be implemented," said Schäfer of the German press agency.
"It was all about the speed of implementation."
And it is clear that it must increase.
According to Schäfer, he is not entirely happy that months have now been spent negotiating.
He would like to start the renovation next week.
Häberle emphasized that the works council had always said that it was ready to make changes - “but not to cancel without compensation”.
What has now been negotiated is a clear commitment to the location and its workforce.
"It will make Untertürkheim fit for the future and give our colleagues security and prospects," said Häberle.
The transformation will still cost jobs, even if new jobs are to be created in some areas.
"We will adjust the workforce," said Schäfer.
"All in all, there will be fewer jobs at the Untertürkheim location."
How many positions are involved, nobody wanted to say on Friday.
That was not an issue in the negotiations, stressed Häberle and also plant manager Frank Deiß.
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The new agreement does not affect the “future of 2030” either.
Instead, there should be voluntary compensation offers - also for employees in production.
Employees whose job is no longer available should also be qualified for other tasks or be able to switch to another plant.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210305-99-706544 / 2