Unrest at Tadano over factory closure

Tadano’s new 250 tonne capacity AC 5.250-2 all terrain crane is ready to go. Photo: Tadano

At Tadano Demag GmbH in Zweibrücken, Germany, workers have taken action over proposed changes to the crane production facilities in the country.

Members of the IG Metall union are on strike over plans announced in February by the Japan-headquartered crane manufacturer to realign its European crane manufacturing operations. These plans involve closure of the Wallerscheid wheeled mobile crane factory near Zweibrücken and investment to be made in the other plants in Germany.

The union is reported as demanding that everything be kept open until 2032. The strike started Thursday 5 September following a vote during a town hall meeting held on Tuesday. Crane production is continuing, Tadano said.

A Tadano statement read, “In negotiations with the works council and IG Metall, no agreement has been reached on the planned restructuring of Tadano Demag GmbH, and the workforce has now decided, at the instigation of the union, to strike at the two plants in Zweibrücken from 5 September 2024. The duration of the strike is currently not foreseeable.”

Reduced job losses

While there are plans to close a factory, the originally announced loss of more than 400 jobs has been reduced by about 30 per cent to around 300 people. That would take the total of around 1,200 to about 900.

In addition, the plan is to move production from the Wallerscheid factory to the existing factories in: Dinglerstrasse (Zweibrücken), Lauf (near Nuremburg) and Japan.

As mentioned above, the planned relocation will involve investment in the other facilities. As an example, more space has been acquired at the Dinglerstrasse plant where there will be production line investments, including new paint facilities and a new repair shop, plus expansion of the testing area with new test pads.

The company said its next step is to put in place a neutral arbitration board to resolve the issues. It will be an independent body charged with helping to find “a viable and binding solution for both sides.”