Mercedes-Benz freezes further investments in Germany
newsNov 13, 20264155
Mercedes-Benz announced that it is halting all further investment at its German sites and is weighing plant closures, company production board member Michael Schiebe said in a memo seen by AFP. Schiebe said current cost structures make investment in Germany impossible and management has warned two German plants would have to close unless costs are reduced. Board member Britta Seeger said the company must now examine which German sites it can still afford to maintain and that avoiding closures remains the goal, but the option must be pursued in more concrete terms. The move follows stalled talks with the works council and the IG Metall trade union after management proposed moving from a 35-hour to a 40-hour week without extra pay. Mercedes cited much higher German labor and administrative costs, sometimes up to five times those in Eastern Europe, weaker sales and profits, and a roughly 19 percent drop in Chinese passenger-car sales in 2025. The company also highlighted pressure from cheaper Chinese electric vehicles and increased U.S. tariffs that it says cost about €1 billion in profit last year. Mercedes’ pause on German investments puts specific sites at risk and signals management may shift production or future model investment abroad unless cost structures change.
