In the midst of challenges in the post-pandemic era, Miele, a leading household appliance manufacturer, has announced plans to cut approximately one in nine jobs in Germany. This will result in the elimination of around 1,300 out of the current 11,700 positions. The company made this announcement in Gütersloh on Friday along with the introduction of a new collective agreement with IG Metall union.
The new agreement will be in effect from August 2024 to December 2028 and includes investments of 500 million euros. To reduce staff numbers, Miele will offer severance payments and early retirement schemes among other measures. While redundancies are generally excluded until the end of 2027, there is a provision that allows for dismissals if job cuts do not meet expectations.
IG Metall expressed mixed feelings about the outcome of negotiations, acknowledging the difficult decisions made by Miele while emphasizing the benefits of agreed-upon severance packages for affected employees. The majority of job cuts will occur in Gütersloh where up to 700 positions in washing machine production will be relocated to a plant in Poland. An additional 600 jobs will be cut across all German sites including sales, production and administration.
Miele’s managing director for human resources Rebecca Steinhage expressed confidence that these necessary changes can be implemented without resorting to redundancies by highlighting the collaborative nature of negotiations and commitment towards ensuring a smooth transition for all involved parties. The finalization of the collective agreement is pending approval by IG Metall members who are scheduled to vote on negotiation results in the coming week.
