Porsche Snaps Up Opel Workers

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Porsche is looking to fill 1,400 jobs in for its expanded factory in Leipzig, where the new Macan SUVlet will be built by the end of the year. A lot of these jobs will go to current Opel workers, says Germany’s Focus.

According to the report, Porsche received 32,000 applications for the 1,400 jobs, “most of them by Opel workers in Bochum, where the plant will be closed by the end of 2014.” Porsche is looking for 1,000 workers and 400 engineers. Already, a complete Opel team changed sides to work in the new paint shop in Leipzig.

Changing jobs is more attractive to younger workers. Workers who have been at Opel for decades will make more money by waiting to get fired before the plant closes and to collect very generous severance payments of between $200,000 and $300,000.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
 7 comments
  • Mike978 Mike978 on May 02, 2013

    Seems sensible and will save GM some redundancy money.

  • Athos Nobile Athos Nobile on May 02, 2013

    "400 engineers" That's a helluva lot.

    • See 1 previous
    • Pig_Iron Pig_Iron on May 02, 2013

      In my little tier-1 division we had 100 design and development engineers for 6 production plants. That doesn't count the manufacturing, quality and testing engineers spread out throughout the different facilities. Each usually worked on a program of projects, not just one platform, as is the norm at the OEMs. It doesn't take long before they add up. I still remember the picture of endless rows of drafting boards at Ford. By the time I started working everything was on CAD. Strangely (to me) tool design the last to go to computer.

  • Ect Ect on May 02, 2013

    32,000 applications, “most of them by Opel workers in Bochum"? I thought Bochum's total workforce was around 3,700? If the system self-selects for younger workers to be motivated to move, Porsche is presumably getting attention from Bochum workers who are better educated,more adept with technology and perhaps more flexible than their long-service counterparts - just the ones they would be most interested in.

  • Asdf Asdf on May 03, 2013

    "the new Macan SUVlet" And Porsche keeps jumping the shark. I wonder what Ferdinand (not Piëch, but his grandfather) would have thought about this...

    • Lorenzo Lorenzo on May 04, 2013

      I think most company founders would applaud expanding product lines, increasing market penetration, and making more money.

Next