Schweinfurt under pressure: reduction in working hours and fear of the future at ZF!

Schweinfurt under pressure: reduction in working hours and fear of the future at ZF!

Things are looking anything but rosy in Schweinfurt at the moment. From December 2024, working hours for almost all employees at the ZF location will be reduced to 32.5 hours per week. This was decided in a joint negotiation between IG Metall, the works council and the company in order to take into account a weak economy and the change to e-mobility. However, this adjustment comes at the expense of employees' pay, so green pastures are certainly needed to deal with the coming challenges. Loud IG Metall and ZF, the reduction should apply from December 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.

The employees have worked intensively on the development of new products and business areas, but there is no positive outlook for the location. Thomas Höhn, the first representative of IG Metall Schweinfurt, sees the need to develop a viable concept that takes value creation and future development into account. The planned reduction does not appear to be just a temporary solution, but is rather a sign of a strategy that is taking place in the fog of uncertainty regarding electromobility and market changes.

Constructive negotiations and their limits

The aim of the negotiations is to reduce costs and at the same time avoid redundancies. A solidarity contribution should be made by non-tariff employees and managers through a reduction in annual salary and mandatory days off. But IG Metall and the works council agree: an extension of the reduction beyond the specified period will not be accepted. The reason for this is the lack of an overall concept that takes the divisions into account and provides a clear perspective for the future.

The site management is actively planning to ensure the future viability of the ZF location. Trainees, dual students and employees in partial retirement are exempt from these measures. It remains to be seen whether the steps already taken, such as the expiry of fixed-term contracts, will be sufficient to overcome the challenges.

A look outside the box

The situation in Schweinfurt is not alone. There have also been similar efforts recently at Volkswagen. In a lengthy collective bargaining session that lasted over 70 hours, IG Metall was able to avert plant closures and mass job cuts. This was supported by massive protests by around 100,000 employees. A new collective agreement not only secures jobs until the end of 2030, but also provides extensive investments in the future of the company. All of this is necessary to master the transformation in the automotive industry. IG Metall emphasizes that employees make temporary concessions in order to achieve sustainable improvements.

As is often the case, there is a reliable roadmap here: VW has defined future production sites and models, including the ID.Golf and the ID.3, thus contributing to the company's long-term strategy.

Overall, it remains to be hoped that both ZF in Schweinfurt and Volkswagen will continue on a solid foundation in order to sustainably secure not only the workforce, but also the entire locations. It will be exciting to see what developments we will see in the future as companies begin to emerge from the current difficult situation.

ZF shows that you can not only move in times of crisis, but also proactively shape the future.