MAN Truck & Bus has launched “MAN2030+”, a program designed to strengthen competitiveness and secure the future of its locations, and has reached a comprehensive agreement with employee representatives on this matter. In a key issues paper, the company, together with the co-determination body and IG Metall, has set out the main measures of the project. These are intended to reduce costs at MAN by around €900 million by 2028 and improve the company’s performance in the long term.
At the same time, investments of almost one billion euros are to be made at MAN Truck & Bus SE’s German locations by the end of 2030. In addition, significant new investments necessary for the next generation of vehicles based on the future TRATON Modular System (TMS) will also be made in Eastern Europe in the future. The establishment and construction of a further battery factory within the group is also to take place in Eastern Europe, depending on the further ramp-up of e-mobility in the truck and bus sector. All relevant committees have approved the planned investments as part of the investment planning process.
MAN CEO and TRATON Executive Board member Alexander Vlaskamp: “Following intensive negotiations, we have now reached agreement with our employee representatives on the implementation of key cornerstones of the MAN2030+ program. The plan secures MAN’s competitiveness and guarantees our customers a broad product portfolio as a full liner, which forms the basis for the company’s future success. This will enable us to secure the jobs of our current employees also in the future. With our continued high level of investment in Germany, we are fulfilling our industrial policy responsibilities. We will now consistently implement the long-term MAN2030+ program in order to counteract intensifying competition, changing market conditions, and major regulatory risks at an early stage.”
Karina Schnur, Chairwoman of the General Works Council of MAN Truck & Bus SE, said: “The discussions were not easy, but they were always respectful and constructive, and from the perspective of co-determination and IG Metall, they have now resulted in the best possible compromise for our employees and the company. The agreement sends a very strong signal regarding the security, stability, and future prospects of our employees. With this agreement, we are securing the jobs of our colleagues at MAN until at least the end of 2035. And we are doing so without interfering with collectively agreed benefits. In addition, we were able to agree on profit sharing for employees and the payment of benefits above the collective agreement level – which means that MAN will remain an attractive company for future generations. Furthermore, we are securing the long-term preservation of our German locations. At the same time, we are creating the freedom to continue investing significantly in our German locations and the future of MAN.”
In order to be able to make the investments, cost-cutting measures are also part of the “MAN 2030+” program. The majority of the planned cost-cutting measures, amounting to around €900 million, are not dependent on the workforce and include savings in material and overhead costs, as well as a further increase in sales performance. In addition, further measures have been defined that directly affect the workforce and are subject to co-determination.
In this context, the signatory parties agreed in the key issues paper on the project to secure long-term employment for MAN Truck & Bus SE employees in Germany until the end of 2035 and to retain all German production sites. Depending on certain factors relating to the company’s performance, this job security could even be extended until the end of 2040. Among other things, earnings and sales targets in MAN’s core truck business will be used for this purpose. TRATON R&D Germany GmbH, to which large parts of MAN’s development workforce moved last year, is also covered by this job security measure.
Making locations and companies future-proof
In addition, almost one billion euros is to be invested in the German locations by the end of 2030 to make them future-proof. The majority of this is to be invested in Bavarian locations. In order to secure these and other investments in the fields of electrification, digitalization, and automation of vehicles, the number of jobs at MAN Truck & Bus SE’s German locations is to be adjusted over the next few years in line with demographic trends, making use of natural fluctuation.
This will avoid redundancies for operational reasons as well as cost-intensive severance programs. As part of “MAN2030+”, the demographic loss of 2,300 jobs will be significantly less in Germany over a period of ten years than the number of employees retiring during the same period. In Munich, this will result in the demographic loss of around 1,300 jobs, in Nuremberg around 400, and in Salzgitter around 600. Wittlich, which currently has around 60 employees, is not affected by the measures. MAN will continue to hire at all locations, ensuring that the company remains a major employer in Germany in the mid-2030s with around 13,000 employees.
Wage cuts for employees of MAN Truck & Bus SE and TRATON R&D Germany GmbH have been ruled out in the “MAN2030+” program. In addition, the company and the parties signing the key issues paper have agreed to continue distributing profit-sharing payments to all MAN and TRATON R&D Germany GmbH employees in Germany in the future. MAN Truck & Bus SE has also announced that it will continue to pay above-tariff wage components in order to remain competitive and an attractive employer in Germany.
Vocational training will continue to play an important role for MAN within the framework of the program. The company has committed to hiring new technical trainees at most of its locations each year, amounting to at least two percent of the direct permanent workforce. MAN currently employs around 1,500 trainees in Germany.
