Kamax Tools in Homberg: worries about jobs and relocation to Slovakia

Kamax Tools in Homberg: worries about jobs and relocation to Slovakia

in Homberg, the location of Kamax Tools, has the tense situation about the impending job cuts between the employees and the IG Metall union (IGM). A so -called "active lunch break" took place on Tuesday, in which the employees announce their displeasure with the uncertain future. Before the company's gates, the works council and representatives of the IGM informed about the current status of the negotiations, which, however, ended without tangible result.

The discussions between the management and employee representatives concern the partial relocation of the tool construction to Slovakia. This had already been announced by the management in spring. According to Kamax, parts of the subsidiary Kamax Tools & Equipment are to be shifted. Officially, it is stated that a draft law was discussed constructively during the last negotiations and could be reached in many points. Nevertheless, the uncertainty among the employees remains great because the final state of negotiations is unclear.

criticism of corporate management

The IGM union, however, represents the negotiations in a different light. Mario Wolf, a representative of IG Metall Middle Hesse, critically commented on corporate management and emphasized that the announcement to close tool construction and the relocation would be finally maintained. In cooperation with an expert and parts of the workforce, the IGM has developed an alternative concept for the continuation of the location, the implementation of which now seems at risk.

Wolf calls for higher severance payments for the employees concerned and the establishment of a transfer agency in order to enable specialists to integrate into other regional companies. At the same time, he criticizes the contradictory statements of management, which would have severely shaken the trust of the employees. He refers to concrete factors about the severance payments, which were revised several times during the talks, which gave the impression of lack of seriousness.

The IGM and the works council currently predict a tricky situation. Successful negotiations could be handed over to the settlement site to achieve a compromise. According to the last information, around 50 to 80 jobs are affected by the planned relocation. While the company reduced the number of jobs affected to 20 in the course of the year, the IGM continues to expect at least 28 layoffs.

In the background of the negotiations, the company decision is to make parts of the production more efficient in Slovakia. The CEO of Kamax, Dr. Reinhard Rupprecht, made it clear that this decision serves the company's overall interest, even if it is not in the interests of the outgoing employees. The relocation primarily concerns the production of rolling cheeks as well as the processing of hard metal and other indirect activities.