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Mercedes Seeks Voluntary Layoffs in Brazil as Truck Sales Slump
Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz unit hopes to trim 1,400 jobs at its truck plant in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, as sales continue to slump.
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Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz unit hopes to trim 1,400 jobs at its truck plant in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, as sales continue to slump. The target represents 16% of the company’s workforce in the country.
The voluntary program will offer Mercedes workers a one-time payment of 100,000 reais ($31,000) regardless of age or seniority, The Wall Street Journal reports. The offer is set to expire at the end of August.
Mercedes commercial vehicle sales in Brazil were down 23% for trucks and 28% for buses in January-July, according to the Journal. It notes that Brazil’s economy contracted by nearly 4% in 2015, and economists expect an additional 3% shrinkage this year. The slowdown has dampened business investment in big-ticket items such as commercial vehicles.
Overall vehicle sales in Brazil were down 25% through the first seven months of the year, according to automotive trade group ANFAVEA.
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