Following ongoing disputes at the newly acquired firm now named Tesla Grohmann Automation, disputes related to worker compensation, the works council at the division in western Germany has revealed that an agreement has been made with management that will result in a new pay structure. The new pay structure will reportedly increase workers’ pay by around 30%.
“We will now get to a competitive wage level,” commented a spokesman from the works council (representing 650 some employees), following a staff meeting on Wednesday.
An emailed statement from Tesla said that the new salary structure, which is being retroactively applied from October 1st forward, provides staff with “a fair and competitive salary.” The statement also says that it includes a pay raise for apprenticeships. However, Tesla did not confirm the 30% figure noted above.
“In April, Tesla pledged a 5-year job guarantee for all Grohmann employees up to at least 2022. Workers also received a €10,000 ($11,800) grant each of Tesla stock and an additional bonus of €1,000 with their April pay and a monthly salary increase of €150, it said,” Reuters reports.
“Tesla faces higher wage costs in Germany as it wrestles with what Chief Executive Elon Musk has described as ‘production hell’ in launching its new Model 3 sedan, which Tesla hopes will make it a mass-market producer. The company warned earlier this month that production bottlenecks had left the company behind with its planned ramp-up for the Model 3.
“German daily newspaper Die Welt reported the wage pact earlier on Wednesday. Before being bought by Tesla last year, Grohmann, based in the town of Pruem near the Luxembourg border, helped clients build highly automated and efficient factories, including battery assembly lines for electric cars.”
Previous to Tesla’s acquisition of Grohmann, the firm’s pay had reportedly been lagging behind industry averages in the region, so labor management seems to have seen the acquisition as a means of increasing worker pay — owing to the leverage held because of Tesla’s desire for quick results with regard to the Model 3 launch. Notably, though, there’s also been talk of collusion with the major German auto manufacturers. Who knows?
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