Germany: Daimler doubles the reduction in jobs from 15,000 to 30,000 – shareholders rejoice as share prices rise
By K. Nesan
July 25, 2020
Store manager reported on Wednesday that Daimler AG, with the full support of the IG Metall union, drastically increased the number of jobs being cut at car makers. Instead of the 15,000 previously announced, now 30,000 jobs must be destroyed worldwide. Shareholders react enthusiastically. The news just broke when Daimler’s stock price skyrocketed.
No one should believe that the mass layoffs at Daimler have reached the end point with this announcement. Daimler’s workers and millions of employees in companies related to the automotive industry must regard this dismissal as the beginning of a broad campaign of unprecedented attacks.
Since the founding of Benz & Cie by Karl Benz in 1883, there has never been a massive attack on workers. Job cuts at Daimler, Germany’s leading automotive industry and the German economic engine, bring a wave of redundancy in other industries as well.
On the same day, IG Metall announced that there would be massive layoffs in many companies, according to his information. Unions assume that at least 300,000 jobs in the metal and electricity industries are in grave danger. At the same time, the union announced that it would not do anything about this, except to intensify its cooperation with companies and the government. Above all, he requested an extension of time to work for up to 24 months, “to ease the company.”
Store manager has published a chart depicting 10 production sites around the world as “shaky candidates” who are threatened with closure or cutting. The site is located in Germany, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Poland, France and Finland, and employs 43,400 workers.
A week ago, Daimler announced a loss of € 1.68 billion for the second quarter of 2020. Analysts had expected higher losses. According to Daimler, the market recovery was stronger than expected. In June, there was “strong growth,” he said. However, Daimler Ola Källenius’s boss said, “But there is still much to be done. … We must continue our systematic efforts to further reduce the company’s break-even point through cost reduction and capacity adjustment. “
Chief Daimler clearly stated that there would be further layoffs and cost-cutting programs. Store manager the headline was titled “Källenius takes the problem seriously” and quoted a member of the supervisory board who said, “He will solve it now.” CFO Daimler Harald Wilhelm commented, “We cannot accept our fee structure in the long run.” Lowering Daimler’s cost base is “a task for the whole decade now,” he said.
What WSWS wrote about the council of works smoked meat tactics at the beginning of last week has now been confirmed. Workers’ board chairman Michael Brecht has announced the group’s apparent reduction plan only in the form of slices. If not, the work council and IG Metall will lose control of the workers.
Two weeks ago, Daimler’s chief of personnel, Wilfried Porth outlined the company’s plans in a detailed interview with Stuttgart Newspaper, suggesting that Daimler must save far more than € 1.4 billion. Because of this, far more employees than planned had to be laid off. He said that management was in intensive negotiations with IG Metall’s work council to devise a strategy.
The announcement of 30,000 redundancy recently is the result of this “intensive negotiation”. But even that is not the end of the story. Porth, for whom workers only numbers on the balance sheet and annual report, has announced there will be no “sacred cow.” Everything that workers have fought for in the past – collective agreements on shift bonuses, holiday salaries and Christmas bonuses – must be questioned, he said.
Daimler and IG Metall’s management knew that they would risk a revolt by workers if the level of their plans behind the workers’ backs was revealed immediately and completely. That is why the council of workers pretends to know nothing when announcing bad news, claiming they don’t know anything.
In fact, prominent work councilors and union officials sit on the supervisory board and economic committee. Not only are they well informed, but they also present their own plans for employment and social reduction, which were previously drawn up by trade unions The Hans Böckler Foundation.
More and more workers are recognizing IG Metall’s hostile maneuvers and intrigues. That Stuttgart Newspaper interview workers during shift changes on Monday after an interview with Porth is published. All those who express their anger do not want to mention their names, as a precaution against retaliation.
One worker, who had been employed at a steel smelting shop for 30 years, expressed concern that many young workers would lose their jobs. That Stuttgart Newspaper quoting it says that this applies especially to those who are just starting out, because those who arrive last usually have to leave first when the work is cut.
Five days after the interview with Porth, two prominent working councilors, Michael Brecht and Ergun Lümali, admitted in e-mail to all workers that they held intensive talks with management, but did not reveal any details. The e-mail only states that “additional steps” are needed to further stabilize Daimler’s financial situation.
As if they were their own managers, they wrote, “There is no doubt that the situation is serious. And of course, the current coronavirus crisis and changes in the automotive industry are weighing on our economic situation. That’s why we have intensive talks with management. … “
Personnel Manager Porth made it clear that layoffs were on the table. The goal cannot be achieved exclusively on a voluntary basis. Brecht, Lümali and IG Metall have no plans to fight this threat. On the contrary, their e-mail shows that they are fully on the side of the board of directors and see their main duty in convincing employees and keeping them silent.
They tried and postponed them by pointing to the “company agreement on safeguarding the future,” which allegedly covers job security until 2030. In fact, the agreement stipulates that this will no longer be a problem if economic conditions change.
The day before sending a shameful e-mail, Brecht explained at a video press conference held at the Benz factory in Gaggenau about what it really was. He said, “Not only the work council but both sides” must find a solution in the economic crisis. “We have instruments to reduce personnel costs in a crisis,” but “there is never a hundred percent guarantee.”
Trade unions are loyal partners of exploiters, not only in Germany but throughout the world. Workers must be clear about the class character of the union. They play a central role in preventing independent mobilization and a united struggle to push through workers’ demands.
The coronavirus crisis and technical changes in the car industry are welcome opportunities in the eyes of investors and shareholders to fire thousands of workers, to destroy the social benefits they have achieved in the past, and to introduce conditions like slaves in factories. . Whatever the costs of the crisis experienced by humans, the first priority is to increase profits. That is the real reason for the new cutting and factory closing program.
Trade unions defend the capitalist profit system and are closely related to the nation state; they will always act against the interests of workers. It is time for Daimler workers to oppose the conspiracy of the board of directors and workers’ council.
Cutting wages and social benefits will not save any work, but only open the way for further redundancies. All work, wages and social benefits must be maintained. When Brecht & Co. states that this is impossible because it endangers the profits of the board of directors, millionaires, and capital owners, it only means that job defense and wages require a struggle against capitalism.
The right to work and decent wages is higher than the obscene enrichment of major shareholders and accomplices. The work council must be forced to disclose all the details of their secret negotiations with management.
Car workers face the task of breaking with unions and councilors of their jobs that are bought and paid, forming independent action committees, joining together internationally and fighting for socialist programs. We ask all readers and especially Daimler workers to contact WSWS to discuss this issue and to organize a joint struggle to maintain employment.
By The Financial Capability Commission (CFFC) of the New Zealand government reported on Thursday that a survey of 3,000 people, conducted in April, found 34 percent of households were in “financial difficulties”. A further 40 percent are “at risk of getting into trouble.” This survey is part of a study involving eight countries. New Zealand ranks worse than the United Kingdom and Norway, where 28 percent and 8 percent of respondents are in “financial difficulties, respectively.” Other countries have not reported the results. This finding reflects the dramatic decline and widespread living standards due to the global economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-eight percent of respondents, estimated at 679,500 households, experienced a decrease in income, with 232,500 losing more than a third. CFFC head Jane Wrightson warned that “lost income will get worse before it gets better.” In fact, there is no end in sight to what has been the deepest crisis of capitalism since the 1930s. New Zealand is very exposed to the crisis: its tourism and international education industry is booming. Households have low savings and high levels of debt, many workers are in unsafe jobs and social welfare benefits are very low. The country also has some of the most affordable housing in the world. CFFC estimates that 179,000 households, one in 10, have missed mortgages or rent payments since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. The survey found that 40 percent of other households “have not experienced financial difficulties but are at risk of experiencing financial difficulties” if they lose income again. Only 26 percent are “financially secure,” with “enough money in savings to face future financial shocks.” On Thursday, Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft notified Goods he estimates that another 200,000 children can be pushed into poverty, bringing child poverty to nearly 40 percent. Already, before the current crisis, 235,400 or one in five children lived below the poverty line, after the cost of housing was reduced. Layoffs are accelerating, supported by a government led by the Labor Party and enforced by a trade union bureaucracy. All claims made over the past three years that Jacinda Ardern’s coalition government with Greens and NZ First will reduce poverty and restore the “human face of capitalism” are being completely discredited. Based on Goods, 53,000 more people have registered for JobSeeker’s unemployment benefits since Sunday March 20. This brings the total to 198,000, representing more than 7 percent unemployment – the highest level in more than a decade. This level is expected to be well above 10 percent. In the past week, Air New Zealand announced it would make 4,000 redundant, up from the previous estimate of 3,750. The airline is majority owned by the government and has access to $ 900 million in government loans. Air New Zealand has received tens of millions of dollars in “wage subsidies” from the government. This handout, which was wrongly promoted as a way of saving jobs, did not stop businesses that cut wages and fired workers. In the tourism sector, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels announced 910 layoffs. Tourism Holdings Ltd, which runs the Waitomo caves and Kiwi Experience businesses, cut 140 staff. AJ Hackett Bungy will cut about 150, nearly three-quarters of its staff, in Queenstown, Taupo and Auckland. The Invercargill Licensing Trust, which operates a hotel and hospitality business, has made 87 people wasteful. The furniture and electronics retail chain Smiths City has fired 115 people, almost a quarter of its staff. Retail group H&J Smith intends to close stores in Dunedin, Mosgiel, Te Anau and Balclutha, with 175 redundancies. Fuji Xerox, a printing and photocopying company, plans to cut about 100 jobs, 11 percent of its workforce. Its rival Ricoh reportedly cut 80 jobs, despite receiving $ 2.2 million in wage subsidies. MediaWorks has 130 staff members, mostly at radio stations and sales teams. This follows 200 layoffs last month by NZME, which has New Zealand Herald. Tower Insurance announced 108 redundancies after posting first-half profit of $ 14.9 million. New Zealand’s ANZ Bank forces also attacked workers, despite generating $ 789 million in profits over the six months to March. The bank cut salaries of around 200 contract workers by 20 percent until the end of September. The Auckland Board formulated an “emergency” savings budget for the largest city in the country in response to the $ 550 million in lost revenue expected during the following financial year. Labor Mayor Phil Goff told TVNZ on May 22 that the council “conducted a review that would produce less work in our organization in the coming months.” Already, about half of 1,100 temporary workers and contractors have lost their jobs. The council reported in talks with the Public Service Association about imposing a wage freeze. The Ardern government, facing elections in September, announced Income Payment Assistance (IRP) on May 25 for people who have lost their jobs since March 1. Paying $ 490 a week is about double the normal JobSeeker benefit, but it only lasts 12 weeks. New payments are still not enough to pay for basic needs, especially in big cities where rental rates are highest. And people who are already unemployed before March will not receive an increase in their payments. Thousands of migrant workers remain prohibited from accessing welfare. Trade Union President Richard Wagstaff, praising the IRP, said that the government was “agile and responsive … to meet the needs of our society.” Contrary to any struggle in maintaining employment, unions echoed the positions of the government and employers that mass redundancy was inevitable. After the election, the IRP and the wage subsidy scheme will end. That will trigger a further wave of layoffs and increased poverty. There is a growing demand from big business for anyone who wins the election to cut spending on social programs. Government ministers have made it clear that “generations” of workers must pay debts arising from pro-business subsidies, tax cuts and bailouts. ANZ Bank economist Sharon Zollner said Goods May 26: “A group of our sacred cows might be reviewed.” They include retirement eligibility. The National Party opposition has promised to increase the retirement age from 65 to 67. The current government has ruled out the move, but the Labor Party had previously campaigned to limit pensions.
-> Blog comments supported by Disqus ->The pandemic intensified the social crisis in New Zealand
| Instant News
The pandemic intensified the social crisis in New Zealand
Tom Peters
May 30, 2020
Workers protest layoffs, salary cuts | Instant News
LAHORE: Mazdoor protests took place at Markaz Kot Lakhpat Mazdoor on Tuesday. The protest was attended by workers, political activists, students and women from various organizations. The aim is to speak out against attacks on the working class and to organize workers. These united fronts include the Awami Labor Party, the Federation of Pakistan Trade Unions, the National Trade Union Federation, Mazdoor Mahaz, the Women’s Democracy Front, Mehnatkash Tehreek, the Revolutionary Socialist Movement, Labor Democracy, Workers’ Democracy, National Student Federation, PRSF, and other organizations.
Protests took place in more than 30 cities throughout the country under the auspices of the Workers Solidarity Committee. Protesters in Lahore hold banners and placards with slogans against layoffs, not paying salaries, withholding pay and pensions. Demonstrators also shouted slogans against the boss and the government. Speaking to the participants, the speakers said that it was a labor-hostile government that gave more than Rs 1,500 billion to big bosses and capitalists in various forms. Prime Minister, all ministers and government institutions care about the big capitalists but not the workers, they said. Not to mention, the capitalists who benefit from the government’s aid package are also laying off workers. They demanded from the government to return all dismissed workers and pay their salaries in full by eliminating their salary deductions. In addition, they demanded ‘no pension cuts’. Instead of filling the pockets of the capitalists, the government must provide full pension to the workers, they demand.
They say that this demonstration is the beginning.
A press release issued by the Lahore Workers Solidarity Committee said that if the government and employers did not end the layoffs and pay workers’ cuts, they would hold mass protests and use every option. The government cannot let workers and their children starve and die while filling the pockets of super rich employers, they say.
Illegal structures: In a major operation against illegal construction, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) destroyed and sealed several buildings and structures in the City here on Tuesday.
The operation was launched under the direction of LDA DG Ahmed Aziz Tarar, officials said adding the LDA DG had announced zero tolerance for illegal construction.
During the operation, the city planning wing team destroyed an illegal commercial plaza in the Huma Block flat and an open air restaurant in Johar Town E-Block while two illegal buildings one in 21-Rachna Block and the other in 83-Jehanzaib Block, Allama Iqbal City.
Another team reached the housing scheme approved by LDA, T&T Abpara and destroyed an illegal building that was built on the site of a public park while the road under construction, the sewage system and other structures of the illegal housing scheme Babar Homes and Zaheer Villas were destroyed. Illegal construction on the road was also demolished in Naz City.
Minority: Minister of Human Rights and Minority Affairs Ijaz Augustine summoned Punjab Chief Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik at the camp office.
Director General of the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) Kamran Lashari was also present at the meeting. Provincial ministers on behalf of the minority thanked the Punjab government for providing security to churches, places of worship and health facilities for the treatment of the corona virus. He said that minorities in Pakistan enjoy equal protection and full religious freedom. The minority community ensures the implementation of SOPs issued by the government to contain the spread of the corona virus, he added. The Minister mentioned that work is being carried out to promote religious tourism in the province through the church. The Chief Secretary assured full cooperation from the Punjab government, saying that concrete steps had been taken for the welfare of the minority in the province. Kamran Lashari briefed the Chief Secretary and the Provincial Minister on the steps taken by WCLA to protect and restore historic sites.
The Coronavirus crisis triggered massive layoffs throughout the Karachi industry | Instant News
On Monday afternoon, a large number of workers participated in protests held in the Korangi Industrial Estate against the dismissal of hundreds of workers from work and the rejection of their wages during locking.
The National Trade Union Federation, a labor rights body, organized a protest in Bilal Chorangi, where labor leaders and workers, said that textile factories and factories had fired thousands of people during the lockdown, defying the provincial government orders.
The NTUF protest is part of a series of protests that have been held outside factories and textile factories in different parts of the city against their dismissal. Last week, workers from various factories and factories held a protest on the National Highway, SITE area and Landhi Industrial Area.
On Wednesday, the NTUF and the Democratic Workers’ Federation jointly filed a constitutional petition in the Sindh High Court to oppose the dismissal of workers and not being paid wages.
Workers who were fired recently told The News on Wednesday that a large number of employers exploited the corona virus crisis and began laying off workers who had been employed for decades. In many cases, employers have forced them to work as temporary workers under the illegal contract system, they said.
In its efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, the Sindh government had previously shut down factories and industries in the city during locking up, and also issued several notices that paid leave for all workers would be provided and no one would be terminated during the lockout. .
But the results of lockdowns have begun to surface for the workers. Exploiting the coronavirus and lockout crisis, industrial owners, especially garment and textile factories, have fired workers and refused to pay their wages during the lockout period, said leaders of workers and dismissed workers.
Nasir Mansoor, NTUF’s secretary general, said that during the coronavirus crisis, forced dismissals of workers had become the norm.
“The holy month of Ramazan is over and the Eid al-Fitr festival will soon arrive. But the factory owner also refused to pay wages to workers despite an announcement from the government. Because of this, a famine situation has arisen in working families. At present, more than 10 million working families are on the verge of poverty and hunger, “Masnoor told The News.
“What can further prove the cruelty of most entrepreneurs than the fact that they have refused to take advantage of the State Bank’s offer of long-term loans and are very easy to pay wages and protect jobs,” he said.
Although officials and confirmed statistics are not available, Mansoor and other labor leaders believe that more than two million workers have lost their jobs in the city alone.
In Karachi, millions of workers work hard in garment factories and textile factories such as sweatshops, without occupational safety and insurance, to produce commodities, especially billions of rupees readymade clothing, said Ikramullah, organizer of Karachi Mazdoor Ittehad, a newly formed labor committee against expulsion of workers.
“But now in the coronavirus crisis, instead of paying salaries from profits, factory owners are laying off workers and not paying their wages,” Ikramullah told The News. He also said that on behalf of the standard operating system (SOP), the factory owner issued workers over the age of 45 years.
Most of the workers who were fired said management had told them to leave the factory saying their services were no longer needed, workers told The News. They also said that factories issued salaries in March in deductions.
The government is under pressure
After issuing a March 24 notification about the safety of workers’ wages and work, the Sindh government initially empowered the district administration, especially the deputy commissioner and assistant commissioner, to enforce order in the industry.
In some areas, such as the SITE area and the Landhi Industrial Area, it works well and the district government has forced factory owners to obey government orders, stop eviction of workers and ensure payment of their wages during the lockout period.
However, the industrialist association has pressured the provincial government to take back the power of compensation from the regional government, especially the commissioners and deputy commissioners, from complaints related to non-payment of wages and dismissals.
The industrialists have also forced the provincial government to immediately transfer Dadan Khan, an assistant commissioner of SITE (Western District), who has acted on workers’ complaints and bound several factories in his jurisdiction to pay their wages during closure. On May 9, Khan was transferred to the provincial health department, said a notice.
Also, by order of the company owner, the government had returned the power of compensation to officials of the labor department, who were notorious for being silent because of violations of workers’ rights in industry, labor leaders complained.
“It is unfortunate that the Minister of Labor Sindh Saeed Ghani announced to the media that the wages and work of workers will be protected by all means,” said Abdul Basit Jagrani, secretary general of Textiles, and Garment Apparel Workers’ Union. “But in reality, the opposite is true. Ghani must ensure his commitment in true spirit. “
Mansoor said that the Sindh government must take steps to provide legal protection to notifications for wage and employment protection during closure. When contacted by The News on Wednesday, chief minister Murtaza Wahab’s adviser said the government continued to hear stories like that but rarely received official complaints.
“The Department of Labor has the authority to take action against anyone who violates orders and dismiss workers. “I know several factories where this happened and the labor department immediately took action,” he said.
“I agree that some employers violate orders, but we need people to file complaints so we can take action,” he said.
Tui cut up to 8,000 jobs amid the ‘biggest crisis’ in tourism history | Instant News
Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ with TUI tourism giant logo at Hanover airport in Langenhagen, Central Germany. JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE | AFP | Getty ImagesTui will cut up to 8,000 jobs in an effort to reduce costs amid the coronavirus crisis, European travel companies announced Wednesday. In its half-year financial report, it described the Covid-19 pandemic as “undoubtedly the biggest crisis the tourism industry and Tui have ever faced.” “Clearly as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, the travel industry will develop faster and possibly deeper than predicted many people. The world will be different and Tui will be different too, “the report said. “We aim to permanently reduce our overhead base by 30% across the group. This will have an impact on the potential of 8,000 global roles that will not be recruited or reduced.” In addition to being leaner in the future, the company also said it would be less “capital intensive,” instead of focusing on digitizing business. “We will measure the size of our airline and book orders, in addition to restructuring. We will divest and handle non-profit activities in our business,” he said. the word. “In order to return to the successful development of the last years after the crisis, we will now immediately implement a realignment.” The company also insisted it had been given a loan of 1.8 billion euros ($ 1.95 billion) from the German government in March to help see it through the crisis. Tui drew full-year guidelines for 2020, citing uncertainty due to the ongoing pandemic. He noted that, for the first time, his full travel offer had been suspended, which weighed on income. It happened after the company saw its best month for vacation bookings in January. However, Tui claims demand for travel remains high, with customers still looking for a vacation online and wanting to travel as soon as it’s safe to do so. the latest in a series of tourism companies that reduce costs through layoffs. Last week, Virgin Atlantic announced it would cut more than 3,000 jobs to reduce the “devastating” impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, United Airlines reportedly said in a recent company memo that they plan to cut management by 30%, and British Airways has warned as many as 12,000 workers could be laid off. The global tourism industry has been damaged by the coronavirus crisis. In the US alone, the sector is expected to lose at least $ 24 billion in foreign spending this year, while China’s tourism revenue fell by almost 60% during the country’s recent Labor Day holiday. .
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