The mood in Steyr is currently modest: As the OÖNachrichten has learned, the announced job cuts at Steyr Automotive began this week. At the end of July, around 200 employees of the truck manufacturer were registered with the AMS early warning system.
On Thursday, both the managing director and the works council of the truck manufacturer refuted rumors that even greater job cuts were underway. Currently, only the announced measures are being implemented. According to OÖN information, the number of employees at the plant could fall to under 1,000.
The reason is a general decline in business, and electric trucks for Volta could not be produced as planned. “With Volta, they backed the wrong horse,” complained an employee who contacted the OÖN anonymously. He criticised the fact that employees from Volta production were sent on educational leave, saying that this was just a way of buying time.
The works council supported the measure at the time in order to preserve jobs, says works council member Helmut Emler. Short-time work was not an option. Many long-standing factory employees are affected by the job cuts. It is uncertain how quickly they will find work again, as other industrial companies in Steyr are also struggling with the economic situation.
Emler cannot say how the situation at Steyr Automotive will develop: “Two years ago, bonuses were still being paid to attract employees. That can change quickly.”
Four-day week at Liebherr
After the application for short-time work for 960 employees was rejected, the household appliance manufacturer Liebherr in Lienz in Tyrol will have a four-day week in production from October to December. Management and the works council have agreed on this. The measure is necessary to bridge the lack of orders, it was said.
The employees will lose a maximum of ten percent of their net wages due to a voluntary top-up payment by the company. The short-time work was also rejected because Liebherr could not sufficiently prove that the economic problems would be resolved by the turn of the year.
