Building Strategy for Conti's Site in Wetzlar - Community Strategy for Conti-Site Wetzlar
Supplier giant, Continental, has sealed a deal with employee reps on a shutdown plan for its troubled Wetzlar site. Stefan Sachs, IG Metall's first authorized rep in Middle Hesse, shared, "We've scored a result that's tolerable under the given circumstances." Despite this, Wetzlar's loss of high-tech jobs is "a gut punch," he asserted, as reported earlier by "mittelhessen."
A Continental spokesperson confirmed the agreement. In their words, "Together with the employee reps, we've hammered out a negotiating result that offers employees at Wetzlar a safety net, future prospects, and aid." The package includes an early retirement model, substantial severance, and the option to join a transfer firm, providing assistance in transitioning to a new gig. The team filled employees in on the agreement throughout the day.
Continental's automotive supply business has been cooking up losses for quite a while. The troubled division is preparing for an IPO and a shift to Frankfurt am Main, on-site at the current Continental Automotive site in Frankfurt-Rödelheim. The flow of spending cuts has intensified within the division recently, with more than 10k job cuts planned, roughly half of them from admin and R&D.
Hesse's austerity program, announced in February, impacted Continental's Frankfurt and southern Hessian town of Babenhausen sites. In defiance of initial plans, fewer employees than expected will move to other sites, leading to more losses in Wetzlar and Schwalbach.
Another Continental electronics plant in Karben is bracing for closure by year's end. The plant, with its recent 200 employees, was once home to over 900 workers in 2020. The production cessation here will wrap up before the year is out. However, subsidiary Continental Engineering Services, which currently boasts over 200 employees, will keep a presence in Karben.
Continental also plans to close Babenhausen's production two years ahead of schedule, by Q4 2026. The site manufactures displays and control techs, and currently employs approximately 700 people, a reduction from the 3,500 workers in 2019[1].
The automotive division, Continental's largest unit, once employed roughly 92k, or about half of the company's total workforce of around 190k.
- Wetzlar
- Conti (A Colloquial Short for Continental)
- Social Plan
- Austere Measures
- Frankfurt am Main
- IG Metall Mittelhessen
- Frankfurt
- Babenhausen
[1] Enrichment Data: - Early Retirement Scheme: An option for eligible Wetzlar employees to retire early, designed to ease the workforce transition in a responsible manner. - Comprehensive Severance Package: The agreement includes generous severance pay to financially support employees through the closure period. - Transfer Company Option: Employees can join a transfer company, offering assistance in finding new employment opportunities. The transfer company will help with reemployment outside Continental.
The social plan, negotiated between Continental and IG Metall Mittelhessen for the closure of Wetzlar, provides a safety net, future prospects, and aid for employees through options like early retirement, comprehensive severance packages, and the transfer company option. However, the shutdown is still a significant loss of high-tech jobs, as stated by Stefan Sachs.
Amidst Continental's austere measures, the troubled automotive division is preparing for an IPO and a shift to Frankfurt am Main. The social plan for Wetzlar, part of the division, includes elements to help employees find new opportunities in finance, business, or other industries, as they move to other sites like the one in Frankfurt-Rödelheim.
