Karmann workers protested on Wednesday in an effort to keep their jobs when the last of the coachbuilder’s assembly contracts end.
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They held banners saying “Every job has a face”. As a symbol of hope Karmann workers released balloons with pictures of workers stuck on them .
Karmann announced last year that it would cut 1,770 jobs because of a lack of new contract assembly work and last month said that a further 1,000 jobs would have to go when the last Mercedes CLKs have been built next year, effectively marking the closure of this area of the company’s business.
Karmann will now focus on other business such as cabriolet roof systems. It delivered 175,000 units last year for a turnover of EUR300m. That business is growing and turnover is expected to double in the next five years. The technical development business has a turnover of around EUR100m a year. The company turned over a total EUR1.5bn in 2007.
