MAN announces drastic job cuts: 2,300 jobs in great danger!

MAN announces drastic job cuts: 2,300 jobs in great danger!

The automotive industry is once again faced with challenges that could impact numerous jobs. On November 20, 2023, MAN announced that it would cut a total of 2,300 jobs, which caused great discontent. Above all, the weak truck market in Germany, coupled with high electricity and labor costs as well as pressure from Asian competitors, is affecting the company. How news38.de According to reports, the job cuts will take place in Salzgitter, Munich and Nuremberg, with 600 employees affected in Salzgitter, 1,300 in Munich and 400 in Nuremberg.

In order to respond to changing market conditions, MAN plans to make the effects of job cuts socially acceptable. Managing directors have assured that no layoffs will be made. Rather, a strategy is being pursued in which there are no new appointments when employees retire. “There are more employees retiring than jobs being cut,” said the responsible company management. Even if the number of remaining jobs could fall to 13,000 after the job cuts, the question remains as to whether the Munich location is at risk from the relocation of production abroad zeit.de reported.

Reactions and concerns

The reactions to MAN's plans were anything but positive. The IG Metall union and the works council expressed major concerns about the measures. IG Metall expects a loss of up to 2,000 jobs in Munich alone and spoke out against relocating production to Poland. This could not only endanger employees, but also threaten research and development jobs. Horst Ott, the head of IG Metall, announced that he would confront MAN management and warned of possible escalations.

The current job cuts reflect a trend in the industry that is also evident in other companies such as Daimler, which is also planning to cut 5,000 jobs. In the last 14 years, around 50,000 jobs have been cut in the German vehicle industry. The ongoing transformation process towards an electric fleet requires investments from the company, which plans to invest up to one billion euros in its German locations.

A look into the future

In order to ensure competitiveness, a new platform could be sought for all truck brands within the Volkswagen Group, to which MAN belongs. This is intended to help reduce costs and modernize products. The change and the challenges cannot be denied, but MAN has also announced that it will continue to hire new employees in order to set the course for the future in a timely manner and to meet the requirements of the market.

Overall, the situation remains tense and it remains to be seen how MAN and the other players in the industry who are facing similar challenges will react to the current developments.