Open future for the truck plant in Steyr: Disappointing start of the “state economic commission”
The union continues to fight to keep the MAN truck plant in Steyr in Upper Austria and the 2,300 local jobs. State elections are being held in Upper Austria this year. That is why state politics are also involved.
In order to increase the pressure on the German parent company, which wants to sell the plant or close it by 2023, the metal workers' union “Pro-Ge” convened the so-called “state economic commission”.
It is supposed to officially confirm that the truck plant is profitable and should therefore be maintained. The reports of the commission made up of social partners (based at the Ministry of Economic Affairs) are of course not binding.
This nine-person commission met for the first time on Wednesday in the MAN Steyr case in Linz, and the trade unionists' hopes were immediately dashed.
The required figures for the performance of the plant were not presented by the MAN management, as trade unionist and ex-SPÖ social minister Alois Stöger describes in the KURIER conversation. As requested, MAN boss Andreas Trostmann still appeared, only the local managing directors from Steyr. But they do not decide on the future of the plant, Stöger knows too and says: “It will take a while.”
Decision maker
“That is why we have asked for the next meeting in about a month that the decision-makers have to come. If I were MAN, I wouldn't want to mess with the Minister of Economic Affairs, ”Stöger continues to play the ball towards the federal government and ÖVP minister Margarete Schramböck.
After all, so the thought, Schramböck's presidential section head Matthias Tschirf chairs the commission. And with four representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and four representatives of the Chamber of Labor, Tschirf tipped the scales, so to speak.
Possible interest
So while Tschirf and colleagues have to decide whether to officially summon MAN boss Trostmann, efforts are being made in parallel to find a buyer for the plant. Ex-Magna boss Siegfried Wolf, head of the supervisory board of the Russian car manufacturer GAZ and member of the supervisory board of corporations such as Porsche, Continental or Miba, was last named as an interested party.
The negotiations with the possible investor would of course still be in their infancy, said MAN works council Erich Schwarz on Tuesday, without naming Wolf. Stöger is more skeptical: “That is at most a very vague hope. That would be nice, but it's not realistic. “
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said that efforts were still being made to save jobs and the plant. The chance that an Austrian consortium will take over the location is intact. But that has nothing to do with the work of the Economic Commission.
This commission met for the last time in 2002 – during the attempted rescue of the Semperit tire plant in Traiskirchen in Lower Austria. Result: The plant was closed and Semperit was sold to the German tire giant Continental. Today Traiskirchen is only known for its refugee camp.
