Also energy prices too high Bureaucracy too much Workers wrong mentality CEO’s too self interested and self rewarding. Too many issues and they do not have enough time to solve them.
When their products were superior, none of these matter. Now that they have lost their competitive edge, they have to compete on cost, suddenly it is a problem.
Yeah. Tesla has had multiple lawsuits for horrible treatment of workers in the US. From overt racism to serious safety issues. Not to mention workers are nonunion and relatively underpaid in the US.
Nobody blames the government policy, US sanctions, EU sanctions, Nordstream bombing, high energy cost, inflations. Oooppss these are part of global elite companies, no further comments
No one in the Netherlands has to call his/her docter to call in sick. The doctor only gets involved if it takes longer than a week or so. No problem. If so many people call in sick, you should ask yourself as an employer what you do so wrong people dont want to come to help their colleagues.
Your response assumes that all people have a good work ethic. This was true when I was young. I am 78. I have never seen such a me, me, me society as the one we have today. Not many people " play hurt " any more.
@@林振华-t4v It may not be the job that has given them stress. What if a parent or child has been diagnosed with cancer, that would stress out a family member. You need to use your brain a bit more.
@ Maybe it was the CEOs fault for dismissing electrical cars and battery technology, or being greedy saying they were raising prices because of inflation making electric cars more attractive. So you think CEO did everything right and the real reason is people calling in sick????
Assuming you need 1,000 workers to work 6 hours a day for 250 days a year (minus weekends, bank holidays, and paid vacation days off), you have 6x250x1000 =1,500,000 hours of production. If 30% of the work force decide to call in sick, just one day a year. You need additional 30% of people to work on their behalf. That’s additional 30% of labor cost. Multiply that by months of absenteeism by 30% of them.
@ what killed Toys R Us, was it the employees? What killed Red Lobster? Hint it is the same as Toys R Us. Although government should make that illegal.
Here in Sweden we can call in sick, and be home for 2 weeks (paid) without any problem. But after the 14 days we need to get a note from the doctor if we need to continue to be home due to being sick. It actually works well and is not being much abused ...
Which actually is system tell you that if you are not happy for some reason or something else and don’t wanna to work at this period of time ,it’s ok to have a break without permission .if the frequency is too often,I think no one don’t know what happens , especially to your coworkers or direct leader ,so it’s not much being abused
It is frightening to see how the German automotive industry - the backbone of the German economy - is in massive trouble: High personnel costs, extremely expensive energy, social and political tensions - both nationally and in the EU. You are right: the leading position in the automotive sector is in acute danger and I currently see no sustainable solutions in the context of structural change. I live in Germany, but have opportunities for professional comparison abroad.
They rushed into renewable energy , unfortunately renewable energy is extremely expensive for end users . Not a great idea to rush that when cheap energy is required to keep you competitive globally in manufacturing.
Ola Kallenius, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz, earned €12.7 million ($13.9 million) in 2023, which was an 80% increase from the previous year. He blames German workers for high salaries but ignores he himself went to the trough to feed. It's true salaries are high in Germany and cuts are unavoidable now but that could have been avoided with good stewardship. While the Chinese focused on EVs and battery tech, for all their talk of supporting EVs in practice VW leadership stuck with mostly legacy ICE for a quick buck rather than build affordable more ecologically friendly cars. VW leadership knew decades in advance the switch needed to happen so its not like this is some sudden crisis. It was decades in the making. Poor leadership is still poor leadership. The market has spoken. .
Many say any CEO that is in charge of making losses should forfeit any golden cushy bonus on top - he blames the grunts but takes an obscene bonus of Euro 12.7 M for messing the company up in a worsening state; he should be forced to give this up and if he keeps continuing ^^%^%^%^%%^ up in charge; the board should sack him without any golden pay off.
@@nia79nia Certainly not an issue for Randroids. For the rest of the world the widening gap between the very wealthy and those that actually do most of the work is of concern.
Time stamp 5:50 shows the dash being installed. I own a Merc, can you imagine the cost of removing the dash to work on a problem once the warranty period is over? Never again, a Chinese EV is next.
Don't blame the workers. Blame the designers, engineers, and leadership staff. The employees only do as they are told. Blame the people that has designed the planned obsolescence ,unreliability, over priced, over engineered stupidity into them.
Ah yes, when the company excels, congratulate the executives, when it struggles, blame the workers. The western model of capitalism that has driven the wage gap between the two groups to the stratosphere. Which group can you replace overnight and still keep production going?
It's not the employees that are going to be calling in sick it's the company. But if you are a CEO you have to find a scapegoat and it's past time to start the finger pointing. A person not showing up for work is not to blame for falling sales.
Is Källenius serioulsy suggesting that "sick leave" is the reason for the outdated cars of the German car industry consumers do not want any more? And what exacty makes workers in the German car industry so "sick", that they do not want to go to work anymore? Maybe workers have no fun producing outdated products no one wants? Isn't all of that a complete failure of strategic management? And isn't strategic management YOUR job, Mr. Källenius?
The workers in Hungary, Alabama, Thailand and all the other countries in the world don’t have as many sick leaves. It is a german thing, and it is across all industries, also the public sector
High rates of sick notes usually hint to unbearable working conditions, mostly psychological pressure from management... some like to see tesla in this, but mercedes....
The US & German/EU auto industries are the most subsidised, and have been for decades. The Australian Auto industry lost its subsidies progressively over the turn of the last century (the “Button plan” - in response to Australia’s NAFTA obligations.) until the foreign multinationals said it was no longer profitable to make them anymore. Rather than tell the historic truth they went for the same message as MB, and ultimately all the others no doubt, and blamed workers and wages.
In the 1990s to buy a German luxury car people got superior engineering and a vehicle that would do 250000 miles if well looked after serviced etc . But now the vehicle is often leased and can start having major problems as a used car after 4 years . Some repairs are so extremely expensive that in minor RTAs insurers would write off the car . That Mercedes Porsche or VW cannot assure premium quality and the fact that the extras list is enormously expensive put people off .
Many say he should be blaming his own actions, greedy shareholders and the upper management + board - they should take a pay cut and if they keep messing up in control - resign or get sacked as being inept; Management always blame the grunts for any issue where the problem is themselves
I have got stocks of different companies and Mercedes is one of them. Although I have an average income I simply invest a small deal of my saving on the stock market. Tell me, what makes me a "greedy" shareholder???
@@sonnylatchstring Depends on how much return on your investment as dividends you demand, and whether you vote for improving the bottom line or for improving wages and working conditions. Most shareholders are in it just for the money and wouldn't care if they starved the workers to death in order to get a little more money, though. BTW, part of the reason Chinese companies are so effective they are fearsome is because they waste far less money, as a percentage of revenue, on dividends and executive pay, and instead invest that money on things like R&D and expansion. I mean, you could pay BYD's CEO 13 times over with the compensation package Mercedes CEO took home last year, and BYD is a much larger company than Mercedes, with just BYD's R&D department being roughly two thirds of the whole Mercedes headcount.
@@FabioCapelamost workers wouldn’t care if the shareholders starved to death, why should the opposite be true? Also, a big part of why chinese companies are on the rise is that they have lower labor costs. A shareholder invests their money and expects a return on that investment, same as a worker expects to be paid at the end of the month. Shareholders get return by either increasing share prices or by getting a dividend. If wanting more money is greedy, then the workers are also greedy for demanding yearly increases in salary.
@@HNedel You are aware that China's labor costs are higher than any place in Africa, most of Asia, most of Latin America, and even parts of Eastern Europe, right? Labor costs in India are less than half of China's. Heck, Mexico already has lower labor costs than China. And shareholders are in a different category because they are not working for their money. They lend it and expect to get hefty payments, often more than even the workers who actually create value for the company. It's why nowadays I look at The Beatles' "Taxman" song - where they complain of a 95% revenue tax - as not something to complain about, but instead as something to aim for, as long as that high a tax is only for the 1% richest and the money is used to support the well being of the masses.
@@FabioCapela the workers don’t create value for the company per se, the company creates value by using the available land, labor and capital. If the shareholders or owners only got barely more than what it cost them to produce, then there would be no incentive to do anything, no accumulation of capital and no investment in higher worker productivity. China tried that, up until the early 80s. Then they switched. As a result China has generated a lot of wealth. Read the history of Haier, how the workers had to destroy with hammers their old washing machines and fridges which they had previously built. Also it cannot be understated how much the technology transfer from western companies accelerated the development of china. Without it, China‘s major export would still be pencils, as it was in the 70s.
You don't have to be the chief technology officer to know electric cars are the future. People not showing up for work is a symtom of low morale because they no longer believe their company is headed in the right direction. A poor leader will blame workers for poor morale.
I would say the opposite they are not the future..normal people do not want them...too expensive to much trouble to charge and massive loss of value over three years.. the real market has spoken and not our crap politicians
Personally, I am optimistic that Trump will use his power to eliminate exports of oil and natural gas altogether. Save that for the use of the people of the United States. Germans will then not be able to complain about the high price of oil from the United States, and will no doubt be VERY happy.
I've been working in Germany for over five years... I don't think I've been away from work longer than a few days due to sickness, even during Covid times. What the heck? >_
I used to work in the IT department of a German company. I often encountered situations where German colleagues called in sick without providing a clear timeframe for their return. Even worse, they would hold onto their assigned tasks, preventing others from taking over, which resulted in significant delays on projects and deliverables. Germany is often referred to as the “sick man” of Europe, and they have only themselves to blame.
when i pay extra for a luxury product the main thing i want is the knowledge that the workers are paid and treated well. what is the point of mercedes if they treat their workers like musk treats his "barnacles" on the tesla factory floor.
A poor work ethic will not be solved by doctor notes. Parents and teachers should have set expectations that are internalized before employment in factories or elsewhere.
Yes, it is always the workers! They make the strategic decisions, they approve budgets and marketing plans and designs, and they are the ones who always mindlessly follow their ego while being overpaid and using the company's resources like private jets for their own purposes! Always those damned workers!
Yup, no questions around leadership, profits, dividends, executive packages, bonuses etc. Always the poor schmuck on the assembly line. Their pals in the media back up their nonsense and people believe it.
He might have a point about sick days. However German industry's bigger problem is it's electricity prices, which are very volatile. Because Germany has to buy large amounts of electricity from it's neighbours, this is destablising other countries' electric prices too. Norway are threatening to cut off supplies, Sweden are delaying the opening of the Hansa power bridge because of this. Of course, Germany's auto industry's problems are the same as every other auto industries problems. They are still clinging to the model that served them well for the past 100 years. The release of the Tesla model 3, should have been a wake up call for them, yet they chose to ignore it. The model Y's sales just highlighted the fact that just producing a few EV variants of their ICE models wasn't going to cut it.
Tesla model Y is 5th best selling EV in germany, behind 4 EVs from VW and barey selling more than 6th place Mercedes EQA. Tesla Model 3 is at 23, behind the Ford Explorer EV. So what exactly is tesla showing again?
Auto executive: "I have a great idea for reducing sick days and forcing employees to come to work unless they are completely incapacitated." Implements idea. Employees follow rules and use system. Auto executive: "Can you believe what our employees are doing? They are following our rules and ruining our business!" Whose fault is that?
Another reason for the high sickness rate in Germany is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, Germans were quite successful at avoiding contact with viruses, which significantly reduced infections. However, this also meant that their immune systems had less exposure to common viruses, potentially weakening their natural defenses. Now, as life returns to normal, the body needs to re-encounter these viruses and relearn how to defend against them effectively.
The position of their cars is prestige, not cost ... The cost is a selective factor for the customers, more expensive is a must ! Chinese cars are what were Japanese cars made for some time ago : affordable tools for a happier life 🤓
I'm a recently retired MB mechanic of 34 yrs. The idea that the MB workers are to blame is totally wrong. MB has been in trouble for years. Its quality has suffered for years. Therefore, reducing its demand, increasing warranty cost, and lowering customer satisfaction. For example, its 4 cylinder engines need new heads more often than spark plugs. The cylinder heads were made without hardened valve seats. The replacement heads have the same issue. Customers don't know this. These kinds of quality issues are far more common than the public knows. This doesn't address parts shortages and software failures. New cars come in dead off the truck. Blaming the workers is just a distraction from long-standing issues that MB hasn't or can address. Who is Musk to blame workers when Teslas have quality issues. One of the busiest repair shops area is a Tesla service center.
I was in the happy position to own a variety of Mercedes cars over many years. Such was the depreciation on my last Merc I walked away to another brand. It is going to take the mother of all changes in the mindset of those in the German car industry to correct this, *or* they may follow Nissan into oblivion.
the workers AND management overpaid for decades. Thus expensive cars , overpriced .Its only the badge but if they continue like this they will loose it
You have no idea how true this is. I know cases 4-5 people are hired so that 2 of them be at work in the same time. Let's not leave aside the bad management.
The increase in sick days after the introduction of telephone sick notes doesn't necessarily mean that people are abusing the system. On the contrary, when you don't have the option, you prefer to go to work sick, rather than wasting a day or multiple days in a hospital. China abuses its workforce, the corporations contribute very little to social security. It is China that needs to change, not the other way around.
The average of sick days per year is normaly 10 to 15 days. I can't understand what is happening at the car makers. Before the pandemic you had to go to the doctor for medical examination for getting a sick note. But our medical system was "industrialized", which means that you need now a date for every visit at your local doctor. And this date is most times not at the present day but maybe 1 or 2 days later.
You mean that one CEO that got dealt with? But wasn’t that because he personally denied insurance claims and ruined people’s lives, ending some of them? Seems like it’s just CEOs in general you want to see dealt like that, even the one from Mercedes who hasn’t denied any healt insurance claims and ruined
My mate works at Bunnings Hardware in Australia, it's full of DEI hires(trans, gays, radical feminists, etc..), and they all take sick days(mental health days) every week. He ends up doing 12-hour days all the time (which he doesn't want to do) because he is the only sucker with any work ethic.
The Management is responsible for this bad situation. And not a year ago they payed out a lot of Money to them salf. And now they tell the Workforce they are not productive any more? You are to expensive? Every employees knows how critical the Situation is. The Management and big Shareholders sould move and quit there expensive abuse of Money! Bevor quiting thousands of Jobs.
I have absolutely no sympathy for the Mercedes CEO. We have this back and forth in Australia. If you have sick leave in your book, you can use it. If employers don't want workers to have access to sick leave, then take it to the next election. Otherwise play by the rules and shut up. Those workers not coming into work at Tesla, I highly suspect they aren't being paid or very shortly after going off work aren't, it being America. If your business can't succeed following labor laws, then you've failed as a leader and should go out of business. End of story.
Buyers would have paid FAIR prices for resonable well designed electric cars. Remember how Mercedes (together with VW as a competitor) is one of the leading brands for small business transport vehicles? In 2020 they introduced the E-Sprinter with a range of 120 km NEFZ for the 40 kwh version and 168 km for the 55 kwh Version in 2020. With a sticker price of 70.000 Euro. Which is just not useable for anyone doing serious business in real life. A time when almost every electric passenger car had more battery capacity for half the price. And of course it was only available as a closed box version, while you had ample of versions with the diesel engine: Closed box, Open Platform on frame (perfect for special builds), motorhome, mini bus. In 2023 they introduced an 80kwh version on the same platform (dating from 2018) capeable of 330 km range - and finally in 2024 they announced a 113 kwh version capable of 440 km of range. I'd say that should have been the benchmark in 2020, before the house was burning. And for a sticker price of 100.000 Euros they are still double the price of their same car with a diesel engine. Of course. No one could build a car with an 80 kwh battery for 55.000 Euro (Tesla Model 3 starting from 2019). Blaming the workers for that destructive strategy is just ridiculous.
The fact that he blames the workers ACTUALLY shows how bad manager he is, AND how the leadership is bad in that company, top level leadership... true leader will protect his employees, amd take the responsibility himself... and that is why company fails... they are taking fat bonuses and they are the ones that do not work, and then they blame workers... shameful...
$3,000 more per car in labor to stop desindustrialization in your country isn't that much if they're investing in a long term plan-- not simply putting off the inevitable.
Like the old business saying; lead, follow, or get out of the way. Too many of the legacy automakers decided to stand in the road looking stupid and got run over by the Chinese automakers. The management of these companies watched it happen and did nothing, now they are paying the price. Running away crying or blaming others won't help. They will get no sympathy from me as the management of those companies were responsible for ensuring that they kept ahead of the game.
I cannot believe a vehicle build has such a high labour rate, how did they not robotize the business over the years of growth, to not allow this too happen, Oh I know Fat Cat Profit, not reinvestment in Hardwear.
So, the guy making $35 million a year thinks the actual workers are the problem? Mercedes adopted EV's but decided to go the SUPER expensive route, which yeah, is not competitive or offers volume. ALL vehicle makers should be focusing on 2 vehicles for mass production: lower-cost EV mid-sized SUV and EV smaller hatchback, these 2 vehicles types make up nearly 80% of all vehicle sales.
Even if mercedes wanted to build affordable EVs and compete against the chinese in race to the bottom, those EVs wouldn’t be produced in germany anyway, due to the high labor costs. Their gactory in Hungary doesn’t have as many people on sick leave, neither does the factory in Alabama. It’s a german thing. And mercedes did a strategic mistake 30 years ago by going downmarket with the A and B class and diluting their brand image with low quality and poor reliability. Now they are paying for it.
What passed for "luxury" was 'optional'. Now, luxury is standard. No more 'billing by month'. No more 'paying for heated seeats'. Mercedes options are standard.
German here! What the Mercedes and Tesla CEO‘s are saying is correct, but the forget to mention that income hasn’t gone up since mid corona and people are tired of working for a wage that only pays the rent, food and utility’s. It used to be very different 3/4 years ago.
btw: Being sick in Germany… We are required to get a sick note from the doctor within 3 days of being sick, this can be done by a visit or a video call through a app. This sick note has to be handed over to your employer. The sick note only has the date until when you are sick, due to privacy law it is forbidden and illegal for your employer to ask you about your condition. The employer must pay 100% of your salary for the first 6 weeks, after that the Insurance takes over and pays you 70% of your salary.
meanwhile in the US...."you mean your jobs actually pay enough to pay for rent, food and utilities without relying on a 2nd person to live with to pay the other half?"
Mercedes workers are extremely well paid, maybe only next to VW workers in Germany. Their pay has definitely gone up every year as stated in their collective agreement. When Mercedes and VW go bankrupt and are bought by the chinese, all those workers will have so much time to take care of health issues. It will be a dream come true, work-life balance of 0%
@@Zoot-flash8 its pretty crazy. im a sales manager at a place where my store has done nearly 2 million in revenue this year, and we operate at around 35 to 38% profit margin. not only do i make commission on my sales, i also get a small portion of all my employees sales, plus my base salary, and im pretty much in the same spot i was 20 some years ago when i was 19 and worked at BP gas station for $10/hr because i worked the midnight shift and got an extra $1/hr. cost of living is out of control
In the US, if one is sick for a week, they have to go on short-term disability and have the doctor fill out the form to justify the employee going on disability.
If Amazon had the same boss, Amazon would have gone bankrupt long ago. Don't blame the employees, sir, it's yours for your incompetence! Sincerely, Jeff Bezos.
In Germany companies don't get automatically the reason of their staff's illness anymore. Causing huge efforts doing the payrolls correctly. Especially smaller companies are losing lots of money they don't get back from health insurance companies. 🙄
I've had most Mercs , the last being a 2016 s350L which after discounts was £53k. And superb it was too, unlike their recent offerings for similar money. Inflation since 2106 does not account for the drop in quality and doubling in price!! Tesla 3 trounces the EQE and is half the price. Management to blame thinking the badge justifies the price, when they have no segment leading models any more.
I think the German inability to pivot to EVs smoothly combined with their antiquated labor laws could potentially kill some of the German auto industry - unless the German government bails them out.
I remember aspiring towards a C class, 3 series or A5. Entry point was around $50k. Fast forward to now where i am at that stage in life to move away from japanese rice cookers, entry point is closer to $75k! Ok, inflation, sure, but when the byd seal exists for $48k, my prior aspirations wont come to fruitition.
ncluding pension costs, the CEO took home 12.7 million euros ($13.9 million) last year, an 80% increase from the previous year, according to the report. The increase makes Kallenius one of the top earners among the CEOs of the 40 companies included in Germany's blue-chip index (.DAX),
Leadership overpaid, product over priced
Also energy prices too high
Bureaucracy too much
Workers wrong mentality
CEO’s too self interested and self rewarding.
Too many issues and they do not have enough time to solve them.
Not sure how German workers are gonna compete with China's 996 😱😱😱
When their products were superior, none of these matter. Now that they have lost their competitive edge, they have to compete on cost, suddenly it is a problem.
Entitled workers. Insane demand.
Union workers can quit and go to another manufacturers. It's a free market.
The line workers weren’t the ones designing these crappy, overpriced cars.
Their 50k cars dont even have HEATED SEATS 😂
Only a Chinese troll/bot would say that. In the West, we all know who produce "crappy" products between Germany and China.
Every time a company is in trouble they blame the workers, if it has success they praise the leaders.
In most cases it is reverse.
Yeah. Tesla has had multiple lawsuits for horrible treatment of workers in the US. From overt racism to serious safety issues. Not to mention workers are nonunion and relatively underpaid in the US.
Its just like in the silo.
Its always mechanical
How can somebody blame themself😂,dose he lose his patience for waiting too much time to get being fired?
Nobody blames the government policy, US sanctions, EU sanctions, Nordstream bombing, high energy cost, inflations.
Oooppss these are part of global elite companies, no further comments
@@AB-dg3vy The better paid workers in unions are now fired, as the factories of such car brands are closing.
no chance it is bad management?
Yeah, it's the CEO that dermines the price, not the worker. The cars are TOO EXPENSIVE.
Reduce price, thus reducing profit, but then workers won't demand higher pay.
Just found out what's really the problem. Leadership.
Exactly. Germans cars are uncompetitive even at cheaper prices. The tech sucks.
Leadership and workers, same thing. Lazy leadership, lazy workers, it's a systemic issue in Germany. It's the society.
Yes, problems is leadership. German government (or political leadership) is bad and company leadership is bad.
It all starts with the leadership of the EU and Germany. All just puppets serving their true masters. Not the common people.
No one in the Netherlands has to call his/her docter to call in sick. The doctor only gets involved if it takes longer than a week or so. No problem. If so many people call in sick, you should ask yourself as an employer what you do so wrong people dont want to come to help their colleagues.
😅
Your response assumes that all people have a good work ethic. This was true when I was young. I am 78. I have never seen such a me, me, me society as the one we have today. Not many people " play hurt " any more.
How big is the automotive industry of the Netherlands
@@JamesAgans Agreed. Sick days are an easily abused system. It's the honor system, which only works if people have honor. These days, many don't.
If management is blaming sick leave they got problems.
maybe, but dont say a person doing data entry putting in 6 months of stress leave because his or her work is justified.
@@林振华-t4v cool, no one did
@@林振华-t4v It may not be the job that has given them stress. What if a parent or child has been diagnosed with cancer, that would stress out a family member. You need to use your brain a bit more.
Yes the factory workers decided on what cars to build.
No, but each employee decides whether they FEEL like working every day, don't they?
You don't think this can be an issue?
@@SeattlePioneer Do you buy a car due to how often the worker of that car was sick? or because of the car? China makes cheaper and better cars.
It is always someone else’s fault with all CEOs
It is always someone else's fault with all employees.
After all, if someone doesn't FEEL like working, they MUST be sick, right?
@ Maybe it was the CEOs fault for dismissing electrical cars and battery technology, or being greedy saying they were raising prices because of inflation making electric cars more attractive. So you think CEO did everything right and the real reason is people calling in sick????
Assuming you need 1,000 workers to work 6 hours a day for 250 days a year (minus weekends, bank holidays, and paid vacation days off), you have 6x250x1000 =1,500,000 hours of production. If 30% of the work force decide to call in sick, just one day a year. You need additional 30% of people to work on their behalf. That’s additional 30% of labor cost. Multiply that by months of absenteeism by 30% of them.
@ assuming you have an incompetent CEO it doesn’t matter how many work for you
@ what killed Toys R Us, was it the employees? What killed Red Lobster? Hint it is the same as Toys R Us. Although government should make that illegal.
Here in Sweden we can call in sick, and be home for 2 weeks (paid) without any problem. But after the 14 days we need to get a note from the doctor if we need to continue to be home due to being sick. It actually works well and is not being much abused ...
Which actually is system tell you that if you are not happy for some reason or something else and don’t wanna to work at this period of time ,it’s ok to have a break without permission .if the frequency is too often,I think no one don’t know what happens , especially to your coworkers or direct leader ,so it’s not much being abused
If you are not happy, then quit, don’t let your coworkers do your job for you and get them to pay for your small vacation
It is frightening to see how the German automotive industry - the backbone of the German economy - is in massive trouble: High personnel costs, extremely expensive energy, social and political tensions - both nationally and in the EU.
You are right: the leading position in the automotive sector is in acute danger and I currently see no sustainable solutions in the context of structural change.
I live in Germany, but have opportunities for professional comparison abroad.
They rushed into renewable energy , unfortunately renewable energy is extremely expensive for end users .
Not a great idea to rush that when cheap energy is required to keep you competitive globally in manufacturing.
The real causeis that they are all building cars they cannot sell.
I believe RE is cheaper than alternatives.
Ola Kallenius, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz, earned €12.7 million ($13.9 million) in 2023, which was an 80% increase from the previous year. He blames German workers for high salaries but ignores he himself went to the trough to feed. It's true salaries are high in Germany and cuts are unavoidable now but that could have been avoided with good stewardship. While the Chinese focused on EVs and battery tech, for all their talk of supporting EVs in practice VW leadership stuck with mostly legacy ICE for a quick buck rather than build affordable more ecologically friendly cars. VW leadership knew decades in advance the switch needed to happen so its not like this is some sudden crisis. It was decades in the making. Poor leadership is still poor leadership. The market has spoken. .
Many say any CEO that is in charge of making losses should forfeit any golden cushy bonus on top - he blames the grunts but takes an obscene bonus of Euro 12.7 M for messing the company up in a worsening state; he should be forced to give this up and if he keeps continuing ^^%^%^%^%%^ up in charge; the board should sack him without any golden pay off.
His salery is not an issue even though it is disturbing for lazy people with minimal ambition in life.
@@nia79nia You mean not any issue for Randroids that think they are Howard Roark and the rest of the world are parasites.
@@nia79nia Certainly not an issue for narcissitic Randroid buffoons.
@@nia79nia Certainly not an issue for Randroids. For the rest of the world the widening gap between the very wealthy and those that actually do most of the work is of concern.
Thank you, Sam, for your honest opinion.
Time stamp 5:50 shows the dash being installed. I own a Merc, can you imagine the cost of removing the dash to work on a problem once the warranty period is over? Never again, a Chinese EV is next.
Don't blame the workers. Blame the designers, engineers, and leadership staff. The employees only do as they are told. Blame the people that has designed the planned obsolescence ,unreliability, over priced, over engineered stupidity into them.
Marketing telling what direction the "customer" wants the company to take 🙂
I have just got an EQA cost 55K GBP. They want me to pay a subscription to switch on the cruise control
you didn't know this when you bought it?
poor executives decision making is a consequence of too many sick days.
Sounds like a politician ,allways deflecting blame on others and not taking responsibility.
Ah yes, when the company excels, congratulate the executives, when it struggles, blame the workers. The western model of capitalism that has driven the wage gap between the two groups to the stratosphere. Which group can you replace overnight and still keep production going?
How much is the Mercedes CEO PAID? HOW MUCH IS THAT FING MUSC PAID?
Easy to solve the high sick rate, don’t pay company sick pay and they will soon not call in sick for minor ailments
Executives never blame themselves for bad decisions, managers flip flop and hope you forget
The consumers finally realise that Mercs are way over-priced. The snob value is disappearing fast
It's not the employees that are going to be calling in sick it's the company. But if you are a CEO you have to find a scapegoat and it's past time to start the finger pointing. A person not showing up for work is not to blame for falling sales.
Is Källenius serioulsy suggesting that "sick leave" is the reason for the outdated cars of the German car industry consumers do not want any more?
And what exacty makes workers in the German car industry so "sick", that they do not want to go to work anymore?
Maybe workers have no fun producing outdated products no one wants?
Isn't all of that a complete failure of strategic management?
And isn't strategic management YOUR job, Mr. Källenius?
The workers in Hungary, Alabama, Thailand and all the other countries in the world don’t have as many sick leaves. It is a german thing, and it is across all industries, also the public sector
High rates of sick notes usually hint to unbearable working conditions, mostly psychological pressure from management... some like to see tesla in this, but mercedes....
MB = money pits per Scotty
They need to shut it down then restart as a different company.
The US & German/EU auto industries are the most subsidised, and have been for decades. The Australian Auto industry lost its subsidies progressively over the turn of the last century (the “Button plan” - in response to Australia’s NAFTA obligations.) until the foreign multinationals said it was no longer profitable to make them anymore. Rather than tell the historic truth they went for the same message as MB, and ultimately all the others no doubt, and blamed workers and wages.
In the 1990s to buy a German luxury car people got superior engineering and a vehicle that would do 250000 miles if well looked after serviced etc .
But now the vehicle is often leased and can start having major problems as a used car after 4 years .
Some repairs are so extremely expensive that in minor RTAs insurers would write off the car .
That Mercedes Porsche or VW cannot assure premium quality and the fact that the extras list is enormously expensive put people off .
Many say he should be blaming his own actions, greedy shareholders and the upper management + board - they should take a pay cut and if they keep messing up in control - resign or get sacked as being inept; Management always blame the grunts for any issue where the problem is themselves
I have got stocks of different companies and Mercedes is one of them. Although I have an average income I simply invest a small deal of my saving on the stock market. Tell me, what makes me a "greedy" shareholder???
@@sonnylatchstring Depends on how much return on your investment as dividends you demand, and whether you vote for improving the bottom line or for improving wages and working conditions. Most shareholders are in it just for the money and wouldn't care if they starved the workers to death in order to get a little more money, though.
BTW, part of the reason Chinese companies are so effective they are fearsome is because they waste far less money, as a percentage of revenue, on dividends and executive pay, and instead invest that money on things like R&D and expansion. I mean, you could pay BYD's CEO 13 times over with the compensation package Mercedes CEO took home last year, and BYD is a much larger company than Mercedes, with just BYD's R&D department being roughly two thirds of the whole Mercedes headcount.
@@FabioCapelamost workers wouldn’t care if the shareholders starved to death, why should the opposite be true? Also, a big part of why chinese companies are on the rise is that they have lower labor costs.
A shareholder invests their money and expects a return on that investment, same as a worker expects to be paid at the end of the month. Shareholders get return by either increasing share prices or by getting a dividend. If wanting more money is greedy, then the workers are also greedy for demanding yearly increases in salary.
@@HNedel You are aware that China's labor costs are higher than any place in Africa, most of Asia, most of Latin America, and even parts of Eastern Europe, right? Labor costs in India are less than half of China's. Heck, Mexico already has lower labor costs than China.
And shareholders are in a different category because they are not working for their money. They lend it and expect to get hefty payments, often more than even the workers who actually create value for the company. It's why nowadays I look at The Beatles' "Taxman" song - where they complain of a 95% revenue tax - as not something to complain about, but instead as something to aim for, as long as that high a tax is only for the 1% richest and the money is used to support the well being of the masses.
@@FabioCapela the workers don’t create value for the company per se, the company creates value by using the available land, labor and capital. If the shareholders or owners only got barely more than what it cost them to produce, then there would be no incentive to do anything, no accumulation of capital and no investment in higher worker productivity. China tried that, up until the early 80s. Then they switched. As a result China has generated a lot of wealth. Read the history of Haier, how the workers had to destroy with hammers their old washing machines and fridges which they had previously built. Also it cannot be understated how much the technology transfer from western companies accelerated the development of china. Without it, China‘s major export would still be pencils, as it was in the 70s.
You don't have to be the chief technology officer to know electric cars are the future. People not showing up for work is a symtom of low morale because they no longer believe their company is headed in the right direction. A poor leader will blame workers for poor morale.
I would say the opposite they are not the future..normal people do not want them...too expensive to much trouble to charge and massive loss of value over three years.. the real market has spoken and not our crap politicians
Not according to drivers in Germany.
Did any of these people ever mention high energy costs thanks to the US?
Personally, I am optimistic that Trump will use his power to eliminate exports of oil and natural gas altogether. Save that for the use of the people of the United States.
Germans will then not be able to complain about the high price of oil from the United States, and will no doubt be VERY happy.
I've been working in Germany for over five years... I don't think I've been away from work longer than a few days due to sickness, even during Covid times. What the heck? >_
I used to work in the IT department of a German company. I often encountered situations where German colleagues called in sick without providing a clear timeframe for their return.
Even worse, they would hold onto their assigned tasks, preventing others from taking over, which resulted in significant delays on projects and deliverables.
Germany is often referred to as the “sick man” of Europe, and they have only themselves to blame.
thats what the germans called britain 50 years ago
@@josephberrie9550 and they were right -- back then.
when i pay extra for a luxury product the main thing i want is the knowledge that the workers are paid and treated well. what is the point of mercedes if they treat their workers like musk treats his "barnacles" on the tesla factory floor.
he has no courage to say that NATO has destroyed their business, more destruction less money, less customer
So not the dividend payouts share buy backs . Bonuses ?
A lot more people are genuinely sick after the introduction of mRNA
A poor work ethic will not be solved by doctor notes. Parents and teachers should have set expectations that are internalized before employment in factories or elsewhere.
I agree with your assessment.
Yes, it is always the workers! They make the strategic decisions, they approve budgets and marketing plans and designs, and they are the ones who always mindlessly follow their ego while being overpaid and using the company's resources like private jets for their own purposes! Always those damned workers!
Yup, no questions around leadership, profits, dividends, executive packages, bonuses etc. Always the poor schmuck on the assembly line.
Their pals in the media back up their nonsense and people believe it.
He might have a point about sick days. However German industry's bigger problem is it's electricity prices, which are very volatile. Because Germany has to buy large amounts of electricity from it's neighbours, this is destablising other countries' electric prices too. Norway are threatening to cut off supplies, Sweden are delaying the opening of the Hansa power bridge because of this.
Of course, Germany's auto industry's problems are the same as every other auto industries problems. They are still clinging to the model that served them well for the past 100 years. The release of the Tesla model 3, should have been a wake up call for them, yet they chose to ignore it. The model Y's sales just highlighted the fact that just producing a few EV variants of their ICE models wasn't going to cut it.
Tesla model Y is 5th best selling EV in germany, behind 4 EVs from VW and barey selling more than 6th place Mercedes EQA. Tesla Model 3 is at 23, behind the Ford Explorer EV. So what exactly is tesla showing again?
You're right....very correct. Tq
Auto executive: "I have a great idea for reducing sick days and forcing employees to come to work unless they are completely incapacitated."
Implements idea.
Employees follow rules and use system.
Auto executive: "Can you believe what our employees are doing? They are following our rules and ruining our business!"
Whose fault is that?
Another reason for the high sickness rate in Germany is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, Germans were quite successful at avoiding contact with viruses, which significantly reduced infections. However, this also meant that their immune systems had less exposure to common viruses, potentially weakening their natural defenses. Now, as life returns to normal, the body needs to re-encounter these viruses and relearn how to defend against them effectively.
The position of their cars is prestige, not cost ...
The cost is a selective factor for the customers, more expensive is a must !
Chinese cars are what were Japanese cars made for some time ago : affordable tools for a happier life 🤓
Long term comfort zone. Arrogance keeps you in the ivory tower.
If only Mercedes workers had shown up to build those dreadful looking blobmobiles in '22-23, Mercedes wouldn't be in this situation.
I'm a recently retired MB mechanic of 34 yrs. The idea that the MB workers are to blame is totally wrong. MB has been in trouble for years. Its quality has suffered for years. Therefore, reducing its demand, increasing warranty cost, and lowering customer satisfaction. For example, its 4 cylinder engines need new heads more often than spark plugs. The cylinder heads were made without hardened valve seats. The replacement heads have the same issue. Customers don't know this. These kinds of quality issues are far more common than the public knows. This doesn't address parts shortages and software failures. New cars come in dead off the truck.
Blaming the workers is just a distraction from long-standing issues that MB hasn't or can address. Who is Musk to blame workers when Teslas have quality issues. One of the busiest repair shops area is a Tesla service center.
Sorry, I read the first 30 seconds but then I was off sick 😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂
Lolz..Employees are not happy so calling in sick..
I was in the happy position to own a variety of Mercedes cars over many years. Such was the depreciation on my last Merc I walked away to another brand. It is going to take the mother of all changes in the mindset of those in the German car industry to correct this, *or* they may follow Nissan into oblivion.
Nissan make very good value cars
@suarez-marani Nissan? For how long?
Praying for your wife to recover Sam . May she be blessed.
It is the law of nature that the nations with hardworking people will prosper, those with lazy people will ultimately go down the drain.
the workers AND management overpaid for decades. Thus expensive cars , overpriced .Its only the badge but if they continue like this they will loose it
management pay and bonuses.....i bet
You have no idea how true this is. I know cases 4-5 people are hired so that 2 of them be at work in the same time. Let's not leave aside the bad management.
The increase in sick days after the introduction of telephone sick notes doesn't necessarily mean that people are abusing the system. On the contrary, when you don't have the option, you prefer to go to work sick, rather than wasting a day or multiple days in a hospital. China abuses its workforce, the corporations contribute very little to social security. It is China that needs to change, not the other way around.
if the company is im trouble all the sudden its the fault of the workers... make sense.... lol
Definition of scape goat, right there.!
The average of sick days per year is normaly 10 to 15 days. I can't understand what is happening at the car makers.
Before the pandemic you had to go to the doctor for medical examination for getting a sick note.
But our medical system was "industrialized", which means that you need now a date for every visit at your local doctor.
And this date is most times not at the present day but maybe 1 or 2 days later.
It seems some people have found a way of dealing with CEOs like this. Saving a LOT of money in the process.
You mean that one CEO that got dealt with? But wasn’t that because he personally denied insurance claims and ruined people’s lives, ending some of them? Seems like it’s just CEOs in general you want to see dealt like that, even the one from Mercedes who hasn’t denied any healt insurance claims and ruined
Hey Ola Källenius, how much do you get a year? Probably too much.
My mate works at Bunnings Hardware in Australia, it's full of DEI hires(trans, gays, radical feminists, etc..), and they all take sick days(mental health days) every week. He ends up doing 12-hour days all the time (which he doesn't want to do) because he is the only sucker with any work ethic.
The Management is responsible for this bad situation. And not a year ago they payed out a lot of Money to them salf. And now they tell the Workforce they are not productive any more? You are to expensive? Every employees knows how critical the Situation is. The Management and big Shareholders sould move and quit there expensive abuse of Money! Bevor quiting thousands of Jobs.
I have absolutely no sympathy for the Mercedes CEO. We have this back and forth in Australia.
If you have sick leave in your book, you can use it. If employers don't want workers to have access to sick leave, then take it to the next election. Otherwise play by the rules and shut up.
Those workers not coming into work at Tesla, I highly suspect they aren't being paid or very shortly after going off work aren't, it being America.
If your business can't succeed following labor laws, then you've failed as a leader and should go out of business. End of story.
The problem is you are competing across borders.
The problem is incompetent and overpaid management.
You don’t have sick leave in your book, you have holidays. Using sick leave to take holidays is against labor law.
Buyers would have paid FAIR prices for resonable well designed electric cars. Remember how Mercedes (together with VW as a competitor) is one of the leading brands for small business transport vehicles? In 2020 they introduced the E-Sprinter with a range of 120 km NEFZ for the 40 kwh version and 168 km for the 55 kwh Version in 2020. With a sticker price of 70.000 Euro. Which is just not useable for anyone doing serious business in real life. A time when almost every electric passenger car had more battery capacity for half the price. And of course it was only available as a closed box version, while you had ample of versions with the diesel engine: Closed box, Open Platform on frame (perfect for special builds), motorhome, mini bus. In 2023 they introduced an 80kwh version on the same platform (dating from 2018) capeable of 330 km range - and finally in 2024 they announced a 113 kwh version capable of 440 km of range. I'd say that should have been the benchmark in 2020, before the house was burning. And for a sticker price of 100.000 Euros they are still double the price of their same car with a diesel engine. Of course. No one could build a car with an 80 kwh battery for 55.000 Euro (Tesla Model 3 starting from 2019). Blaming the workers for that destructive strategy is just ridiculous.
The fact that he blames the workers ACTUALLY shows how bad manager he is, AND how the leadership is bad in that company, top level leadership... true leader will protect his employees, amd take the responsibility himself... and that is why company fails... they are taking fat bonuses and they are the ones that do not work, and then they blame workers... shameful...
Workers want to make money but also want to be lazy, but companies are not allowed to fire these lazy bums. A chaotic system.
$3,000 more per car in labor to stop desindustrialization in your country isn't that much if they're investing in a long term plan-- not simply putting off the inevitable.
Like the old business saying; lead, follow, or get out of the way. Too many of the legacy automakers decided to stand in the road looking stupid and got run over by the Chinese automakers. The management of these companies watched it happen and did nothing, now they are paying the price. Running away crying or blaming others won't help. They will get no sympathy from me as the management of those companies were responsible for ensuring that they kept ahead of the game.
Its the government and EU demands that sink them..
I can't come to work today, I'm sick of benefit cuts while the ceos make millions.
Optimus don't need no sick days. Just sayin.
Technically, he is also working at MB……
I cannot believe a vehicle build has such a high labour rate, how did they not robotize the business over the years of growth, to not allow this too happen, Oh I know Fat Cat Profit, not reinvestment in Hardwear.
Nope, any decision to automate and cut jobs needs to be approved by the works council snd unions. Wanna bet how they are gonna vote?
So, the guy making $35 million a year thinks the actual workers are the problem? Mercedes adopted EV's but decided to go the SUPER expensive route, which yeah, is not competitive or offers volume. ALL vehicle makers should be focusing on 2 vehicles for mass production: lower-cost EV mid-sized SUV and EV smaller hatchback, these 2 vehicles types make up nearly 80% of all vehicle sales.
Even if mercedes wanted to build affordable EVs and compete against the chinese in race to the bottom, those EVs wouldn’t be produced in germany anyway, due to the high labor costs. Their gactory in Hungary doesn’t have as many people on sick leave, neither does the factory in Alabama. It’s a german thing.
And mercedes did a strategic mistake 30 years ago by going downmarket with the A and B class and diluting their brand image with low quality and poor reliability. Now they are paying for it.
What passed for "luxury" was 'optional'. Now, luxury is standard. No more 'billing by month'. No more 'paying for heated seeats'. Mercedes options are standard.
German here! What the Mercedes and Tesla CEO‘s are saying is correct, but the forget to mention that income hasn’t gone up since mid corona and people are tired of working for a wage that only pays the rent, food and utility’s. It used to be very different 3/4 years ago.
btw: Being sick in Germany… We are required to get a sick note from the doctor within 3 days of being sick, this can be done by a visit or a video call through a app. This sick note has to be handed over to your employer. The sick note only has the date until when you are sick, due to privacy law it is forbidden and illegal for your employer to ask you about your condition. The employer must pay 100% of your salary for the first 6 weeks, after that the Insurance takes over and pays you 70% of your salary.
meanwhile in the US...."you mean your jobs actually pay enough to pay for rent, food and utilities without relying on a 2nd person to live with to pay the other half?"
Mercedes workers are extremely well paid, maybe only next to VW workers in Germany. Their pay has definitely gone up every year as stated in their collective agreement.
When Mercedes and VW go bankrupt and are bought by the chinese, all those workers will have so much time to take care of health issues. It will be a dream come true, work-life balance of 0%
@@PeteZam I think we’re on the same ship. We feel the juice ain’t worth the squeeze these days…
@@Zoot-flash8 its pretty crazy. im a sales manager at a place where my store has done nearly 2 million in revenue this year, and we operate at around 35 to 38% profit margin. not only do i make commission on my sales, i also get a small portion of all my employees sales, plus my base salary, and im pretty much in the same spot i was 20 some years ago when i was 19 and worked at BP gas station for $10/hr because i worked the midnight shift and got an extra $1/hr. cost of living is out of control
In the US, if one is sick for a week, they have to go on short-term disability and have the doctor fill out the form to justify the employee going on disability.
Depends entirely on the employer.
If Amazon had the same boss, Amazon would have gone bankrupt long ago. Don't blame the employees, sir, it's yours for your incompetence! Sincerely, Jeff Bezos.
Says one of capitalism's most exploitative employers.
I wonder why 🤔
Hint Russian gas
Viking never responds to comments.
Yet Mercedes Benz are closing their plant in Belgium.
How West handled Covid is now coming home to roost.
In Germany companies don't get automatically the reason of their staff's illness anymore. Causing huge efforts doing the payrolls correctly. Especially smaller companies are losing lots of money they don't get back from health insurance companies. 🙄
Poor workplace conditions environment and stress with poor management feathering their own nests all the time leads to sick leave.
The workers don't make the decisions the management does that & the workers follow instructions....🙄
.
Workers in germany have huge influence and directly influence decisions.
Germany made good cars in early 70s and have been trying to recreate them ever since 😅
I've had most Mercs , the last being a 2016 s350L which after discounts was £53k. And superb it was too, unlike their recent offerings for similar money. Inflation since 2106 does not account for the drop in quality and doubling in price!! Tesla 3 trounces the EQE and is half the price. Management to blame thinking the badge justifies the price, when they have no segment leading models any more.
Heaven forbid one of these CEO's step up and lead in something besides stock buybacks and bonus creation. How about r&d?
I think the German inability to pivot to EVs smoothly combined with their antiquated labor laws could potentially kill some of the German auto industry - unless the German government bails them out.
Was it the workers that created 'Diesel Gate' ????
competitiveness is secondary, germany had lost its main ability - technology and reliability
What if they only get paid for working days and then this way the person doesn’t need to go to work if they prefer to go to the beach for that day?
They decided to make cheap cars at luxury prices, that's the truth
Every German company is taking the opportunity to force wage concessions on their workers.
I remember aspiring towards a C class, 3 series or A5. Entry point was around $50k.
Fast forward to now where i am at that stage in life to move away from japanese rice cookers, entry point is closer to $75k!
Ok, inflation, sure, but when the byd seal exists for $48k, my prior aspirations wont come to fruitition.
ncluding pension costs, the CEO took home 12.7 million euros ($13.9 million) last year, an 80% increase from the previous year, according to the report.
The increase makes Kallenius one of the top earners among the CEOs of the 40 companies included in Germany's blue-chip index (.DAX),
Thank you Sam.
Are you aware of Proton Radiotherapy?