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Opel plant workers to rally in hopes of saving their jobs

Unions are urging Opel plant workers in Germany, and other European staff of US auto giant General Motors (GM), to protest this week in a bid to save their jobs and call for state aid.

Published: 25 February 2009 09:00 CET
Opel plant workers to rally in hopes of saving their jobs
Photo: DPA

Staff at Opel plants in Germany and its sister British brand, Vauxhall, are expected to hold a demonstration against the threat of job cuts.

“We want to expose our demands clearly once again,” Rainer Einenkel, the head of the works council at GM’s plant in Bochum, western Germany, told AFP Tuesday.

Einenkel said he would attend a meeting of Opel’s supervisory board on Friday where management would present an “Opel rescue plan” at the meeting at the request of the German government.

Under German law, labour representatives are granted 10 seats out of 20 on a company’s supervisory board.

Echoing Einenkel’s call to protest, the European Metalworkers Federation (EMF) said in a statement Tuesday that it would oppose any forced plant closures or job cuts.

Leaflets handed out at Opel’s main plant in the western Germany city of Rüsselsheim demanded that there should be “No plant closures and no layoffs” and called for workers to protest Thursday.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Social Democrat candidate in September’s general elections, is expected to attend the rally.

Berlin told Opel to come up with a viable business plan if it wants to benefit from state aid, with unions saying the company needs at least €3.3 billion ($4.2 billion) to survive.

The Financial Times Deutschland reported Tuesday that Berlin may be willing to pump money into Opel, without citing sources.

Another option is acquiring a direct stake in the ailing automaker, although the idea is opposed by some within the country’s ruling coalition.

In Sweden, workers in Saab’s Trollhaettan plant were also urged to rally after the company filed for bankruptcy protection last Friday.

Swedish authorities have flatly refused to provide Saab with direct aid, but have said they would only step in as a guarantor on loans from the European Investment Bank if a new buyer could be found.

Scarce consumer credit has seen auto sales plummet worldwide, with Saab badly hit by its ageing product line and the strength of the Swedish krona to the US dollar – its largest export market.

GM employs 55,000 workers in Europe, primarily in Britain, Germany, Spain and Sweden. The company wants to restructure its European organisation as it looks to stem huge losses.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Published: 7 February 2024 10:54 CET
Updated: 10 February 2024 08:20 CET
Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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