Across Germany, thousands of Bosch employees protested on Wednesday against planned job cuts at the world’s largest automotive supplier. According to the works council and the IG Metall union, more than 10,000 people gathered in front of the company headquarters on Gerlinger Schillerhöhe near Stuttgart alone.
Frank Sell, head of the works council for the automotive supply division, said: “The message is: Stop, it can’t go on like this. We won’t let ourselves be treated like this. Stop this crazy reduction in personnel.” You are standing here because you want to talk about opportunities. Such discussions have so far been rejected by management: “You have to let it sink in: such a huge company. And then we are told: the reduction in personnel should be negotiated location by location. According to the motto: Divide and conquer.”
Frank Sell, head of the works council of Bosch’s automotive supplier division, speaks out against the planned workforce reductions in front of the employees in front of the company’s headquarters in Gerlingen.
(Photo: Bernd Weißbrod/dpa)
At each location, management negotiates staff cuts with the local works council, which makes it impossible for the powerful general works council to have a say everywhere. Around 15,000 more employees protested on Wednesday at the Bosch locations in Ansbach, Blaichach/Immenstadt, Bamberg, Eisenach, Hildesheim, Homburg, Nuremberg and Salzgitter.
What happened? In recent months, Bosch has announced several times that it will cut jobs worldwide. There are more than 7,000 positions available across all business areas – including up to 3,200 in automotive supply. The latter largely affects locations in the Stuttgart area in the drive division and in the areas of control devices, vehicle electronics and software. The reduction should be carried out in a socially acceptable manner, including through early retirement regulations and internal placements in other jobs.
The group management around managing director Stefan Hartung calls the workforce reductions necessary in order to remain competitive at individual locations and with certain technologies. Bosch cited the difficult situation in the automotive industry and consumers’ poor purchasing mood as reasons. And that despite the fact that Bosch continues to earn well: sales rose last year, adjusted for exchange rate effects, by eight percent to 91.6 billion euros. Works council boss Frank Sell sensed a cultural break in the foundation group, which traditionally places great value on presenting itself as social and responsible.
The human resources manager defends the job cuts
The company has now defended its plans to cut thousands of jobs in Germany against nationwide protests from its employees. Bosch understands the concerns of the workforce and is ready for dialogue, the company said on Wednesday. “We are proceeding with a sense of proportion and want to find socially acceptable solutions with employee representatives. However, we cannot avoid the necessary job cuts,” said human resources manager Stefan Grosch. The group must reduce its costs quickly and permanently in order to remain competitive. “We already have excess capacity in many places and the challenges continue to increase significantly.” The change in mobility is changing the industry and with it Bosch’s business, and the weak global economy is putting additional strain on the transition.
Redundancies for operational reasons are excluded in the supply division until 2027 following an agreement with the works council, which affects around 80,000 employees. At the action day on Wednesday, the works council and IG Metall called for alternatives to job cuts and investments in future technologies such as electromobility and autonomous driving. “These decisions not only endanger our livelihoods, but also the innovative strength and future security of Bosch,” said works council leader Frank Sell. In the past four years, 4,000 jobs have been cut in the core business area, in which more than 230,000 people work worldwide.