Longer hours for employees among Mercedes cost-cutting measures

Mercedes-Benz AG

26/06/2026 15:23

June 26 (Reuters) - German carmaker Mercedes Benz MBGn.DE wants its employees to work longer hours for the same salary, among other measures aimed to cut costs across the company, it said in a note to employees on Friday.
"The cost per hour must decrease – in development, sales, administration, and production ... we should work more for the same pay in all areas," CEO Olaf Kallenius and others wrote in a note to employees
A special payment amounting to 18.4% of one month's salary, originally scheduled for July, is to be postponed until 2027, Mercedes said
Some products and administrative functions are to be relocated abroad, the company said
Mercedes' works council said that although the company's challenges do not lie with the employees, it is the employees who are expected to bear the burden
The Middle East conflict has driven up global industry costs, compounding pressure on European automakers already hit by high U.S. import tariffs
Mercedes' stock is down by more than a quarter year-to-date, underperforming the wider pan-European STOXX 600's subindex for carmarkers and car parts manufacturers

 (Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk, ALexander Huebner in Munich, editing by Friederike Heine)
 ((Tristan.veyet@thomsonreuters.com;))