Daimler said that not only will 37,000 workers keep their jobs 2020, about 2,000 new jobs will be created.
An accord reached with workers' representatives rules out firings for economic reasons at the Mercedes-Benz site in Singelfingen, southwestern Germany for the next 10 years, a Daimler statement said.
Earlier this month, Daimler decided to shift production of its new C-Class cars to northern Bremen and to plants in Alabama, China and South Africa from 2014 to lessen negative foreign exchange effects on profits.
Sindelfingen is to continue making more expensive Mercedes' E- and S-Class models, along with the SL sport coupes and hybrid motors, Daimler said.
The move "is the best way to conserve sustainable jobs in Germany," Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche explained.
The group has been hit by a slump in the market for premium automobiles and drew up a cost-cutting plan aimed at saving four billion euros, an amount that will likely be surpassed before the end of 2009. Workers at Daimler and some parts suppliers were angered by the decision and staged several protests to express their views.
On Dec. 10, the head of Daimler's works committee, Erich Klemm, said: "We are happy that despite the decision, which is a poor one in our opinion, jobs have been guaranteed for such a long period."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
