Daimler will reduce the number of its temporary workers in Germany again, a spokeswoman said on Nov. 20 as the company sought to counter the effects of falling demand. "We are going to reduce again the number of temporary workers and short-term contracts," the spokeswoman said, while declining to say how many workers would be affected by the decision.
The Daimler spokeswman said "instruments of flexibility" protected staff with long-term contracts. Daimler employs 167,000 workers in Germany, including a maximum of 2,500 temporary staff.
The reductions are "the only way to react to different market situations and to breathe," the spokeswoman said.
In October, Daimler's Mercedez-Benz division reported a sales fall of 18% from the same month a year earlier.
Managers are considering a cut in the workweek from 35 to 30 hours per week, and has announced that some plants would be closed temporarily during the end of year holidays.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
