Car maker
BMW plant Leipzig introduces 35-hour week
The Leipzig plant went into operation in 2005 and today employs 5,300 people. Photo: Jan Woitas / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
BMW in Leipzig will work 35 hours a week in future. In order to keep production capacities at the same level, an additional 300 employees are to be hired.
The working hours at the BMW plant in Leipzig will be aligned with those of the Bavarian plants. “By 2026, the regular weekly working time will be reduced in three steps by one hour each to 35 hours,” announced the company and the works council.
“In order to keep production capacities at the same level, an additional 300 employees will be hired by 2026.”
BMW personnel manager Ilka Horstmeier said: “We create the same conditions.” The Leipzig plant went into operation in 2005 and today employs 5,300 people. General Works Council Chairman Manfred Schoch said that the reduction in working hours from 38 to 35 hours a week would mean a month less work per year.
BMW Board Member for Production Milan Nedeljkovic said the step-by-step plan creates planning security and ensures the long-term competitiveness of the site. “This is also supported by the expansion of production for electric drive components and the expansion of the Leipzig product range to include the fully electric successor to the Mini Countryman.” So far, around 1100 vehicles of the small model series BMW 1 and 2 series and the electric pioneer i3 have rolled off the assembly line in Leipzig every day.
The competitor Volkswagen wants to gradually introduce the 35-hour week in its plants in Zwickau, Chemnitz and Dresden by 2027, the VW subsidiary Porsche in its plant in Leipzig as early as 2025.