Job cuts at DaimlerChrysler have left it around 1,000 workers short of the staff needed to build the new Mercedes-Benz E class, its works council told Reuters.
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Works council chief Erich Klemm reportedly said brisk demand for the car meant production at the Sindelfingen plant had to rise by 13,000 units by the end of October.
That means working hours will rise by an hour a day now that Friday shifts had been phased out. Even so, the company needs around 1,000 more workers to fill in during summer holidays, Klemm told Reuters.
Mercedes has cut about 7,800 workers in Germany via voluntary buyout packages and early retirement since last year as a way to boost margins at Mercedes Car Group.
Klemm reportedly said the job cuts seemed to be “too much of a good thing”, adding Mercedes would plug the gap with workers on short-term contracts and part-time holiday fill-ins.
Mercedes sold around 264,000 E-class cars last year and aims for the same level this year, the news agency noted.
