A number of news sources are reporting that DaimlerChrysler’s Mercedes-Benz division on Monday has denied claims in a German newspaper on Saturday that 10% of the luxury carmaker’s staff could be cut.
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According to CBS Marketwatch, Die Welt reported on Saturday that a McKinsey study cited 10% overstaffing at Mercedes, which employs about 104,000 worldwide – even with that decimation, the survey reportedly said, production and quality would not suffer.
Die Welt reportedly said DaimlerChrysler’s Sindelfingen design centre and factory could be a target of job reductions, with some job contracts not renewed – the article also said technical improvements could lead to reductions for the C-class model, which is being redesigned for the 2007 or 2008 model years.
The paper reportedly said DaimlerChrysler and McKinsey refused comment.
CBS Marketwatch said the job commotion follows boardroom intrigue at Mercedes, where Wolfgang Bernhard was offered the job of division CEO in late April only to see it withdrawn days later – Bernhard had been one of the DaimlerChrysler board members who blocked chairman Juergen Schrempp’s plan to inject more money into struggling Mitsubishi Motors, in which DaimlerChrysler holds a 37% stake.
Concerns at the Mercedes-Benz unit are in contrast to recent improvements at US operations for Chrysler, which overtook Ford in a Harbour Consulting study of plant efficiency that was released last Thursday, CBS Marketwatch noted.
