In crisis, Mercedes wants employees to work harder without a salary increase

Mercedes-Benz is studying a cost-cutting package in Germany that could reach around 90,000 employees. The measures under evaluation include the postponement of a salary bonus and the extension of the working week from 35 to 40 hours, without an increase in remuneration.

According to the German publication Automobilwoche, the automaker has decided to postpone to 2027 the payment of a bonus that was scheduled for July this year. The benefit, part of the salary defined in a collective agreement, is equivalent to 18% of the workers’ monthly remuneration, and the decision would have been made without prior consultation with union representatives. In practice, employees will have to wait another year for money they were waiting for next month.

The company is also considering extending the weekly workload from 35 to 40 hours without adjustment. The change would amount to about 260 hours of overtime per year for each employee, without any additional pay. The combination of the two measures, postponed bonus and longer working hours for free, is what most irritated the German staff.

The proposal provoked an immediate reaction from the union. For the president of the Mercedes Works Council, Ergun Lümali, the measures are not “a convincing concept for the future”. He countered the idea that the company would gain competitiveness by forcing the staff to work harder without being paid for it and argued that the path passes through innovation, attractive products and qualified labor.

The movement is not isolated. Like Volkswagen, which has been adopting measures to lower costs and regain competitiveness, Mercedes is going through a moment of strong pressure, in a squeeze that spreads through the German auto industry. The automaker is grappling with trade tariffs, lower-than-expected demand for electric cars and a slowdown in the Chinese market, a key market for the brand where local rivals are advancing rapidly.

So far, Mercedes has not publicly confirmed whether the changes have been decided or if they still depend on negotiation with workers’ representatives. The case gained repercussion in the German press by exposing the size of the adjustment that the country’s automakers are trying to make to contain costs.

The numbers explain the tightening. In 2025, the adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of Mercedes-Benz’s car division fell to around 28.3 billion reais (4.8 billion euros), compared to 8.7 billion euros (approximately 51.3 billion reais) in the previous period. The group’s profit fell to R$ 48.4 billion (8.2 billion euros), from 13.7 billion euros (about R$ 80.8 billion).