With mixed financial and economic news coming out of Europe, Robert Bosch GmbH is talking with Bosch-Rexroth (www.boschrexroth.com) workers in Germany to reduce their work hours in response to weakening demand from industrial customers, according to a company spokesman on Friday, Aug. 17. Bosch Rexroth manufactures drives, valves and control technologies, which are used in machine cutting tools, automotive and wind energy industries. The German-based Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper, quoting labor sources, says shorter hours at the the factory in Schweinfurt, Germany, might be implemented in October, initially affecting 450 to 500 workers. By year-end, 1,100 workers may be affected, the newspaper reported in its Saturday edition.
The reason cited for the slowdown is slowing automotive demand and, specifically, fewer orders being placed for diesel systems. For Bosch, the slowdown is affecting the Homburg, Stuttgart-Feuerbach and Bamberg production plants. However, these plants are not considering launching a short-work program because workers could reduce their hours by using up vacations and time off accrued from working overtime, the spokesman adds.
German automotive component supplier, ZF Friedrichshafen (ZF) is also seeing the first signs of slowing demand. A spokesman for ZF says orders and production at its commercial vehicle business were easing, but plant usage at its passenger car operations is still good. ZF has no plans to launch a short-work program but was still using up accrued time off and vacations.
