Automotive industry - Mercedes Council mobilizes against sale of car dealerships
Against the planned sale of Mercedes-Benz's company-owned car dealerships, there is resistance. The General Works Council and the labor union IG Metall announced on Wednesday in Stuttgart that a nationwide action day is planned. There will be demonstrations at six locations next Tuesday, in addition to the headquarters in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, also in Sindelfingen, Rastatt, Bremen, Düsseldorf, and in Berlin. The action will be under the slogan "We stay together - on July 2nd and every day".
According to earlier statements, about 8000 people are employed at Mercedes-Benz's owned dealerships in around 80 locations. Each dealership can have several car dealerships. Mercedes-Benz announced in March that it wanted to sell the dealerships. Each dealership would be examined individually, it was said then. According to a spokesperson, no dealerships have been sold so far.
Mercedes will select buyers based on several criteria. They must reportedly bring business expertise, entrepreneurial competence, financial strength, investment readiness, and openness towards employee representatives. As a whole, the locations should not be sold. The automaker also ruled out financial investors as buyers. No tenders will be issued, but rather the focus is on retaining jobs in Germany, it was said.
The chairman of the Works Council, Ergun Lümali, criticized the step sharply upon learning of it and announced resistance. The plans are a "slap in the face" for the female and male employees and neither acceptable nor understandable. There were already works meetings at many locations in the spring.
Communication about the action day
- The action day, scheduled for next Tuesday, will sees demonstrations in six cities across Germany, including Düsseldorf, Berlin, Sindelfingen, Rastatt, Bremen, and Stuttgart-Untertürkheim.
- The General Works Council and IG Metall, the labor union, have announced their plans for this action day in response to Mercedes-Benz's proposed sale of its company-owned car dealerships.
- The action day will take place under the slogan "We stay together - on July 2nd and every day".
- The car dealerships in question, situated in around 80 locations and employing approximately 8000 people, are owned by Mercedes-Benz and are the target of the resistance.
- Each car dealership can have several locations, and Mercedes-Benz initially announced in March its intention to sell these dealerships, stating that each would be examined individually.
- No dealerships have been sold as of yet, according to a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson.
- The criteria for potential buyers, as described by Mercedes-Benz, involve business expertise, entrepreneurial competence, financial strength, investment readiness, and openness towards employee representatives.
- Despite the sale, Mercedes-Benz has stated that they will not sell the locations as a whole and have ruled out financial investors as buyers.
- The chairman of the Works Council, Ergun Lümali, has sharply criticized the proposed sale and has announced resistance, stating that the plans are unacceptable and incomprehensible and constitute a "slap in the face" for the employees.
