Daimler announced on Thursday that it will build its first in-house electric motor at its oldest facility in Berlin, bringing solace to employees fearful that the diesel motor unit was on the verge of layoffs.
Workers who feared losing their jobs when Daimler said in September 2020 that manufacturing of the 6-cylinder diesel powertrain at its Berlin plant will halt within a year would be provided retraining in software and coding, the German business said.
Around 450 of the plant's 2,300 employees registered for an experimental 160-hour software development training course, with about fifteen chosen for the first round, according to works council chairman Michael Rahmel.
Daimler indicated that investment in the 120-year-old Berlin-Marienfelde factory will climb to a low three-digit million euro level in the next six years, up from a two-digit million euro level previously.
The motor, known as an axial-flux motor, was built by the British company YASA, which Daimler purchased earlier this year. It weighs a fraction of its diesel counterpart and may increase the range of an electric vehicle by up to 7%, according to YASA's founder Tim Woolmer. find out more
Daimler had directed YASA to reduce prices in future revisions of its motor so the company could utilize them throughout its whole EV range, Woolmer had said at the time.
The e-motor is easier to manufacture than its diesel counterpart, so the facility will eventually employ fewer people - but the actual number of job losses is yet unknown, according to Joerg Burzer, head of manufacturing. There was no mention of a commencement date for the motor's manufacture.
According to Burzer, the digital training campus, which Daimler collaborated with Siemens to construct in March and will go online in 2022, will also create new employment.
"If we make an effort here in coming years, there could even be more jobs than before," head of IG Metall Berlin Jan Otto said.
According to Burzer and union members, production of the 6-cylinder diesel motor and other components will continue at the facility in the short term but would eventually be phased out.
A current union agreement guarantees the factory's employees their jobs until the beginning of 2030.
"A year ago, we didn't know what would happen at the plant. Today we're embarking on what will hopefully be a successful transformation with our heads held high," Michael Rahmel, works council chairman at Berlin-Marienfelde, said in a statement.
(Source:www.autonews.com)
Workers who feared losing their jobs when Daimler said in September 2020 that manufacturing of the 6-cylinder diesel powertrain at its Berlin plant will halt within a year would be provided retraining in software and coding, the German business said.
Around 450 of the plant's 2,300 employees registered for an experimental 160-hour software development training course, with about fifteen chosen for the first round, according to works council chairman Michael Rahmel.
Daimler indicated that investment in the 120-year-old Berlin-Marienfelde factory will climb to a low three-digit million euro level in the next six years, up from a two-digit million euro level previously.
The motor, known as an axial-flux motor, was built by the British company YASA, which Daimler purchased earlier this year. It weighs a fraction of its diesel counterpart and may increase the range of an electric vehicle by up to 7%, according to YASA's founder Tim Woolmer. find out more
Daimler had directed YASA to reduce prices in future revisions of its motor so the company could utilize them throughout its whole EV range, Woolmer had said at the time.
The e-motor is easier to manufacture than its diesel counterpart, so the facility will eventually employ fewer people - but the actual number of job losses is yet unknown, according to Joerg Burzer, head of manufacturing. There was no mention of a commencement date for the motor's manufacture.
According to Burzer, the digital training campus, which Daimler collaborated with Siemens to construct in March and will go online in 2022, will also create new employment.
"If we make an effort here in coming years, there could even be more jobs than before," head of IG Metall Berlin Jan Otto said.
According to Burzer and union members, production of the 6-cylinder diesel motor and other components will continue at the facility in the short term but would eventually be phased out.
A current union agreement guarantees the factory's employees their jobs until the beginning of 2030.
"A year ago, we didn't know what would happen at the plant. Today we're embarking on what will hopefully be a successful transformation with our heads held high," Michael Rahmel, works council chairman at Berlin-Marienfelde, said in a statement.
(Source:www.autonews.com)