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Very high interest rates and difficulties in granting financing lead Mercedes to take measures
At the beginning of the year, Mercedes-Benz already predicted a drop in the commercial vehicle market for 2023 as a result of the introduction of the Euro 6 – a system defined as a set of norms that regulate the emission of pollutants for diesel engines –, which mainly harms the production of trucks.
During this 1st quarter, due to very high interest rates and difficulties in granting financing, the German automaker saw much lower demand than initially expected. In this way, Mercedes suffers several negative impacts, such as overproduction, high inventories, excess personnel and increased fixed costs.
The results and performance in the first three months of 2023 have not yet been released. However, Marcello Larussa, commercial director of the company's bank, assured that performance improved both compared to the initial quarter of 2022 and in relation to the closed number of the year.
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Production cut with partial collective vacations
In a newsletter, Mercedes-Benz announces that stock levels need to be reduced, as well as the production volume forecast for the year 2023, adjusted for lower market demand. Year-round staff surplus due to reduced production volumes also needs to be mitigated.
In this perspective, the company In April, part of the production cut was carried out with partial collective vacations. Also, short weeks of work that are scheduled for this very month. However, other measures still need to be adopted.
It is important to remember that Mercedes-Benz Caminhões e Ônibus announced a restructuring of its truck and bus chassis plant in São Bernardo do Campo (SP), which would result in the dismissal of 3,6 workers and the outsourcing of part of the operation. The measure, announced in September last year, was attributed to cost pressure and the transformation of the auto industry.
Adoption of a single work shift at the truck factory
Among the measures that Mercedes-Benz still wants to implement to curb overproduction and high inventories is the adoption of a single work shift at the truck factory for a period of 2 to 3 months.
For the change to be made, the German automaker discussed the need to adopt a single shift in truck production starting in May with the Union last week. Thus, the company is waiting for permission to implement this measure and also wants to find more viable solutions for the remainder of the year.
