860 employees will lose their jobs at the MAN Truck plant in Starachowice, the company’s management announced in the afternoon. The producer informed that the redundancies were caused by the need to restructure due to the difficult economic situation.
In a statement sent to the media, MAN Truck and Bus SE announced that it has taken a comprehensive package of measures to restructure its bus business. Sales in this area would have decreased from around 7,400 vehicles in 2019 to around 4,600 in 2021, while around 2,800 buses were sold in the first nine months of 2022.
“Due to the deterioration of the overall economic situation caused by the war in Ukraine and the consequent increase in the cost of materials and energy, in the short and medium term a significant improvement in the market and sales situation is not foreseeableand therefore the development of the bus business. For these reasons, it is necessary to urgently adapt the structure of this business area “- said the company.
In order to be able to continue to respond flexibly to market needs, especially in Europe, both of the company’s bus factories – in Ankara (Turkey) and Starachowice (Poland) – will continue production. However, as expected, this will require the adjustment of daily production capacity to current market developments.
“In the future, the Polish production plant in Starachowice will produce eight units of buses per day instead of the current twelve” – Michael Kobresja, member of the MAN Truck and Bus SE production and logistics board, explained in the statement. “This planned reduction in production capacity will force us to do so liquidation of 860 jobs at the Starachowice plant. We have informed the staff of the plant and now we will consult with the unions “- she added.
The statement underlined that “MAN is aware of its social responsibility and intends to work with trade unions in the coming weeks to find workable solutions for the company and Starachowice employees.” Among other things, it is planned to offer employees affected by the restructuring jobs in the MAN network, “for example in a truck factory in Krakow or in a plant in Banovce (Slovakia)”.
The president of NSZZ Solidarność in the Starachowice company, Jan Seweryn, said that the unions have been officially informed of the layoffs. “The scale of planned layoffs is very large, it is about 30 percent. crew. We will try to negotiate. We hope that these layoffs will be minimized at least in part. Although during today’s interview, refrigerator president Kob hinted there was no going back from these layoffs, he said.
As the union representative pointed out, announcements from the board of directors indicate that there will be group layoffs at the plant. Letters on this subject are expected to be sent to trade unions and labor offices next week. “For 30 days from the date of delivery of these letters, we will have time to negotiate with the management” – added Seweryn.
The MAN bus factory in Starachowice employs around 3,500 people.
