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German carmakers starting to hire again
23 Jul 2009Two titans of the German car industry will end part-time shifts in their factories soon because they think the recession is near its end.
Audi and BMW say full-time work will resume at all plants before the summer is out.
The German government's “bangers and cash” scheme — offering £2,500 to drivers trading in cars nine years or older — is credited with having given the sector a fillip. Audi's finance chief Axel Strotbek said: “The stock situation and supply and demand is virtually back to normal.” BMW will suspend part-time work at its Dingolfing plant in Bavaria by October.
Mercedes, the other big luxury saloonmaker, still has thousands of part-time employees and there is no immediate news from Stuttgart when that might ease. Mercedes is in the unenviable position of having to save billions at the same time as investing billions in future “green” cars and smaller vehicles.
On Monday Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, said that “the recessionary trend has clearly weakened”.
Reader views (1)
How is anyone going to be able to get morgtages, without jobs, and even if they do how will they pay for them, when the wages, are going down rather than up, and by the way, is anything being made anymore in this country? I seem to remember, that one has to be able to make something to sell to get a living, and anyway who wants to own something, in this country anymore, if you do you get taxed out of existence. I remember the Helical Bar as a concrete flooring company.
- Baz Bazzan, London UK., 22/07/2009 16:30
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