The Mercedes-Benz board has frozen investments in Germany and is considering closing factories.
Production Council member Michael Shaiva and Human Resources Director Britta Seeger announced that without cost reductions, production of new models will be moved abroad. The operating profit of the automotive divisions in the third quarter fell by more than half to 560 million euros, while profitability fell from 4.8% to 2.5%.
Against the background of a 31% decrease in sales in China (to 86,800 vehicles), the company's CEO Ole Calenius lowered his profitability forecast for the entire year to 2-3%. To reduce costs, Mercedes will also renew the voluntary redundancy program with compensation in Germany from December.