Daimler Suspends ALL Production for One Month
by
Steven Lang
Published: October 26th, 2008
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No, the Germans don’t want to start retooling for Panzers and offer the world an opportunity to make it ‘3 out of 5’. But Yahoo! News reports that Daimler-Benz will suspend auto production on December 11th and resume on January 12th, due to flagging demand worldwide. This will be true for ALL Daimler owned plants. Although production may return afterwards… who knows? If the world economy continues it’s counter-clockwise spiral, we could see Daimler retool their plants in a similar way to what Toyota has been forced to do in Princeton, Indiana and San Antonio, Texas.
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Monday-noon-time-in-Germany update: (TTAC should at least refund my China-2-Fatherland phonebills, but hey, what's VOIP for?) Got ahold of somebody who knows everybody and he says: 1.) "DB will close, they just don't know for how long." He doubts the worldwide closure. 2.) (And this is what I hear every time I talk to someone in the Fatherland:) "BMW is much worse off." 3.) He says, there may be a political side to the leaks. German government is very sensitive to unemployment. There's an election next year. The Grand Coalition (CDU/SPD) doesn't look so grand. High unemployment will boost "Die Linke" - a new party formed by former East German Communists and disgruntled left wingers of the SPD. "Jobs" will get everybody's attention. The goverment had denied any bailouts, but wants to boost demand with tax credits for environment friendly cars. Not DB's and BMW's big forte. So, out come the "jobs" hammer. Makes sense.
UAW plants have long had an extended shutdown around Chrismas, at least ten days, maybe two weeks. Nothing similar in Germany?
I wouldn't think Germany would need shutdowns with all of their paid vacation days?
Michael: Not everywhere, but apparently at DB. My contacts in Germany scanned and emailed to China today's report of BILD Zeitung, Germany's mass market broadsheet. In its report, which mainly regurgiates the FAZ report from the weekend (DB must have battened the PR hatches), BILD reiterates the December 11th through January 12th closure at the DB plant Sindelfingen (not worldwide!) and says: "Usual are Christmas holidays of two to three weeks ... at this point, there are negotiations with the Workers Council to extend the Christmas holidays." Nobody in Germany, where 6 weeks of holidays are not unheard of, will turn down longer holdidays .... According to BILD: - BMW wants to build 25000 units less. Stops the line in Leipzig (3series) for a week - Ford Sarlouis (Focus) etc, reduces outpout, 204 temporary workers go - Opel: In Bochum and Eisenach the lines were stopped for 3 weeks each, Workers Council fears work stoppage for all of December. No firings planned. - VW: Wants to build 50000 fewer cars until year's end. 750 tempiorary workers must go - The metal worker's union (IG Metall) sticks to its demand for 8.5% more pay. Spinmeister's Tip-Of-The-Hat to the unions: "Higher wages will create higher demand and jumpstart the economy."