Mercedes-Benz recently announced a joint agreement with Works Council to modernize its Untertürkheim plant in Stuttgart, Germany.
The agreement, which creates the framework for further growth of conventional powertrains while preparing for electric mobility, has long-term effects for safeguarding employees at the site and transforming the plant.
"This is a further step to ensure our competitiveness in the new age of electric mobility," says Markus Schäfer, member of the divisional board of Mercedes-Benz cars, production and supply chain management.
Part of the agreement is a new e-technology center where prototypes for electric powertrains will be constructed. The so called "E-Technikum" will become the ramp-up factory for key technologies. The plant will also make first steps in the assembly of electrified powertrain modules and start producing components for electric vehicles.
The agreement also paves the way for a further capacity expansion of combustion engines for the new generation of high-efficient in-line engines. The production of engines, transmissions and axles will remain an integral part of the product range.
In addition, the foundry at the site will produce components for future engine generations. To make space for electric mobility components, products such as fuel system components and turbine housings will be relocated. The employees affected by the relocation will be offered equivalent jobs primarily in similar areas or in the new fields of electric mobility.
"This agreement is an important signal for the future," says Wolfgang Nieke, chairman of the Works Council Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim Plant. "We aim to set the course for alternative and emission-free powertrains."
With more than 19,000 employees, Untertürkheim is the lead plant in the company's global powertrain production and home of Daimler's headquarters. The site includes six facilities, all of which are located in the Neckar Valley near Stuttgart.
For more information, visit www.daimler.com.
