Porsche safeguards employment and increases productivity
This Wednesday, July 21, 2010, the Board of Management and the Group Works Council of the Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, have reached a long-term agreement to secure its production locations. The new regulations will expire on July 31, 2015 and will supersede current regulations dating back to 2005. The company thereby creates the prerequisite for continued productivity increases and flexibility, and lays the groundwork for lasting positive corporate development. In response, in the next five years, Porsche will make an investment in the high hundreds of millions in infrastructure and project innovations. By the end of the year, separate employee agreements will be reached in its German subsidiaries.
The core agreements are as follows:
• Job security for the coming five years for the entire staff of Porsche AG.
• Uninterrupted production of the mid-engine sportster Boxster as second mainstay along side all 911 models in the Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen.
• The hiring of 100 trainees or dual college students per fiscal year for technical and sales positions. Further, through 2015, the company pledges to hire graduates to positions with open-ended employment contracts.
In addition, beginning in the spring of 2011, the Board of Management and the Group Works Council agreed to produce the mid-engine sportster Cayman at its Zuffenhausen plant. The lacquered body of the Cayman model will continue to be supplied by our Finnish assembly partner Valmet Automotive.
Should vehicle production reach capacity in Zuffenhausen, Porsche will draw on its production turntable capacities of the Volkswagen Corporation
It is agreed that the production location Weissach will continue to be strengthened: Going forward, Porsche will continue to employ all significant developments and intensify research into alternative engines. Further, in the summer of 2011, all segments of Porsche marketing will be centralized at the Zuffenhausen location.
Michael Macht, Chairman of the Board of Porsche AG, stated: "With this agreement securing production locations, we will be optimally positioned for growth in the coming years. This socially balanced compromise guarantees Porsche employees more job security in the future. It also guarantees the company a high degree of flexibility. With this agreement as a foundation, we are optimistic that we can increase sales and profits in the coming years. Worldwide, Porsche received the highest number of contracts in the company’s history during the months of June and July, proving that the company is on the road back to its former power."
Uwe Hück, Chairman of the Group Works Council, commented: "This arrangement guarantees that in the near future, Zuffenhausen and Weissach will once again run at full capacity. With this, the highest level of investment in the history of Porsche, we will secure our economic self-sufficiency and thereby our competitiveness. Further we have stipulated additional development capacities and added the Boxster as the second mainstay to Zuffenhausen. Our employment for 2015 is thereby secured. I fear that we will add extra shifts as early as January. I am especially happy once again to be able to train 100 young people per year and offer future-oriented training through our program ‘Fit for Electric Mobility’. The best part is that all trainees will be hired with an open-ended term. This agreement is the first step. By the end of the year we want to secure production lo-cations for our subsidiaries as well."
