Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius is calling on the works councils to approve “far-reaching changes” in the ongoing debate over “higher productivity and lower labor costs.” If that were rejected, he announced, the company would draw conclusions, including “halt[ing] planned investments in its German locations.” Plant closures would not be ruled out, he added.

Källenius told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that the company is burdened with high energy and production costs, as well as lengthy approval processes preventing competitiveness and/or limiting it. “Reducing labor costs is a key lever for changing that,” Källenius claimed, instead of attacking the Green Deal bureaucracy, which is to blame for the energy price increases.