Steyr "vicious circle"

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Because Volta is not realizing the planned ramp-up of e-truck production as planned, the signs at Steyr Automotive are once again pointing to job cuts. This also hurts the head of the workers' works council, Helmut Emler.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Markus Wenzel (3))

The insolvency brought Volta's e-truck production to an abrupt halt; it should have started up again soon. Should have! Because this did not happen as planned and other customers also have fewer orders at the moment, Steyr Automotive has to reduce its workforce again. How are the employees doing? We asked the head of the workers' works council, Helmut Emler.

From the commissioning of photovoltaic systems to the takeover of M-U-T's vehicle construction business: eight news items are prominently featured on the Steyr Automotive website to create a positive mood. One of the articles is about the start of series production for Volta Trucks. The e-truck start-up was the one in which so much hope had been placed when the planned collaboration with the GAZ Group burst like a soap bubble due to the sanctions against Russia.

Six e-trucks per day had been planned
But there is not much left of the plans with Volta either: instead of ramping up production to six e-trucks per day in late fall, it is completely unclear whether and how many vehicles will be built for the start-up, which was able to continue after insolvency thanks to investor Luxor Capital. The result: Steyr Automotive is reducing its workforce.

In July, 200 employees were registered with the AMS early warning system, and this week the first employees were informed of their departure. Of the 170 employees who most recently worked primarily for Volta or were kept on with the help of educational leave, "only a handful will remain," says Helmut Emler, head of the workers' works council at Steyr Automotive.

The mood at the plant, whose workforce is likely to fall below the 1,000 mark, is characterized by uncertainty. It's not just Volta that is missing work, "other customers also have capacity utilization problems," says Emler.

"I'm already looking forward to every truck we produce"
Apparently, far fewer parts are being painted for MAN than planned. The German truck group recently reported a significant drop in incoming orders. Emler speaks of a "vicious circle": "We don't know where we're going to get work from. I'm already happy about every truck we produce."