In its efforts to preserve its Bramber plant, Bosch wants to now save its largest German production site after earlier saying it would close. Â
This week after tough negotiations with its employees at the plant, 7,000 jobs at the company’s largest German production site have been saved as the company now wants to turn the plant into a manufacturing plant for fuel cells.
Bamberg Plant to Become a Center for Fuel Cell Manufacturing
The company agreed to keep the plant open but for this, the employees agreed to reduce their working time for the next six years. Employees presently work 35 hours a week from April 1, 2020, it will be three hours less for six years – with a corresponding drop in pay.
In return, the company agreed to invest in the conversion of the plant from mostly dependant on internal engine combustion plant to the production of fuel cells plant.
We are very satisfied with the result,” said works council chief Mario Gutmann the German Press Agency. “I’m relieved that we’re getting a realignment and security, and security is priceless today,” he said. The agreement will give them the time they need to complete the transformation of the site and provide them with plenty of jobs.
With floor space of 235,000 square meters divided into five sections and around 7,700 employees (including 300 trainees), the factory in Bamberg in the north of the German state of Bavaria is the Bosch Group’s second-largest after the one in the Stuttgart borough of Feuerbach.
Note: As this story hit the newswires, a fire broke out at the plant on Thursday and according to initial estimates, damage to the millions was caused by the fire in Germany’s largest plant on Thursday. Fortunately, nobody was hurt by the fire, the police and the company reported. The cause of the fire was still unclear, the investigators of the criminal investigation have taken up the investigation.
What is certain is that a factory building has been so severely damaged by the flames that the building may not be entered for the time being and a possible collapse of the building is possible.
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