More than 33,000 Mercedes-Benz employees took part in protests on Friday against the company's current cost-cutting plans, according to figures from the trade union. Demonstrations took place at all Mercedes-Benz locations, IG Metall announced. Similar protests are planned at other carmakers and suppliers in the coming weeks, including at Volkswagen.
Mercedes-Benz employees demonstrated "against an unpaid increase in working hours to 40 hours, cuts to collectively agreed benefits, excessive dividends and a course of cuts pursued by the company at the expense of the workforce," IG Metall stated.
The union and the works council called for secure jobs, prospects for the company's sites, and untouched collective bargaining and social security. As of the end of 2025, around 164,000 people were employed at Mercedes-Benz in Germany, according to the company.
IG Metall chairwoman Christiane Benner said in Düsseldorf that the key to a strong automotive industry lies in investment in future-proof products, sites and employees. "We are also calling on politicians for a clear signal: the industrial core of this country must not be hollowed out. We need an active industrial policy that secures the transformation."
Germany's carmakers are currently under pressure. Mercedes has announced a savings program, and the company is considering longer working hours at the same pay in order to boost the competitiveness of its German plants. The premium carmaker presented its first-quarter results at the end of April, with profit falling 17 percent year-on-year to 1.43 billion euros. Mercedes attributed this primarily to a difficult business situation in China.
Europe's largest carmaker, Volkswagen, is planning a radical overhaul of the group that, according to a media report, will involve even greater job cuts than previously planned as well as plant closures in Germany. "Manager Magazin" reported at the end of June that up to 100,000 jobs could be cut worldwide. In addition, four plants in Germany are to be shut down.
According to calculations by the auditing firm EY, almost 50,000 jobs were lost in the German automotive industry last year alone. Since 2019, the industry has shed 111,000 jobs, according to the figures.
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