Mercedes-Benz halted further investment at its German sites on 12 November 2026 and announced a more detailed review of possible plant closures. The board cited high costs and a lack of progress in talks with employee representatives. No decision to close a specific plant was announced.
According to matching reports, Chief Production Officer Michael Schiebe communicated the investment decision in an internal interview. Chief Human Resources Officer Britta Seeger said in the interview that the group needed to examine more closely which sites it could still afford in Germany. Plant closures were to be avoided, she said, but had to be considered more seriously as an option. The interview was seen by, among others, the Reuters news agency and Handelsblatt.
At the heart of the dispute are the costs of labour. The board is demanding that employees work longer for the same pay. The company says this would reduce costs per working hour. According to Reuters, special payments and voluntary benefits are also under discussion. Seeger reportedly said the board itself would also make financial sacrifices.
The employee representatives reject key demands. For works council and IG Metall ending the 35-hour working week is unacceptable, according to a Deutschlandfunk report. Talks on cost savings have been under way since summer 2026; management said that, as of 12 November, there was still no prospect of an agreement.
The investment halt and the review of closures are separate steps. With the halt, the board is putting further investment at German sites on hold for the time being. The review, however, does not mean that a plant will be closed. The reports available do not say which projects already under way are covered by the decision, or how long the halt is intended to last.
Mercedes-Benz operates vehicle plants in, among other places, Sindelfingen, Rastatt and Bremen. It also has sites where components are manufactured, including Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, Berlin and Hamburg. According to an SWR report, Schiebe had already warned in the autumn that a vehicle plant and a components plant could be closed if costs did not fall. No specific sites were named.
Much depends for employees on whether the negotiating parties can agree on a cost-cutting package. The board links the allocation of future investment to the cost structure; the works council and trade union are defending existing working conditions. Whether and when an agreement will be reached remains unclear. Nor can the announced review be taken to mean that any particular sites are actually at risk.
The dispute comes amid tense negotiations in Germany’s metalworking industry. Also Volkswagen had announced on 12 November that it was reviewing investment. In Mercedes’ case, the current decision concerns its own German sites and talks about their costs.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).