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Future in danger: Job exchange is looking for solutions for Airbus employees!
A job exchange in Gerstungen offers hope for employees after an automotive supplier goes bankrupt. Positive demand and support from the community promote new perspectives.
Future in danger: Job exchange is looking for solutions for Airbus employees!
In Gerstungen, a small community in the Wartburg district, hope for new career prospects is blooming. Mayor Daniel Steffan (CDU) reported an extremely positive response to the job fair that took place last weekend. More companies registered than there was space in the local community hall. To meet the great interest, the municipality will organize a second event to give job seekers the opportunity to start their future career in one of the local companies. This is particularly important at a time when the automotive industry, a key employer in the region, is facing difficult challenges.
The situation in the automotive supply industry is tense. Works council chairmen Hans-Karl Thiel and Michael Strunz have mixed feelings about the approaching end of their company, where they worked for over two decades. The company had already filed for self-administration insolvency in the summer of 2024 with the aim of restructuring itself with new investors. Insolvency administrator Romy Metzger cites the difficult conditions in the industry as one of the main reasons for the misery: high raw material prices, rising energy costs and international uncertainties are severely affecting the automotive industry, which MDR reports.
Help in difficult times
Despite the threatening situation, a balance of interests was reached with an extensive social plan, which includes an extraordinary 17 million euros and is financed by the main customers. This plan provides, among other things, retention bonuses for employees until the end of the year and signing bonuses for weekend work. A resolution team of around 80 employees will remain active until the end of March to support the company's winding up. What is particularly pleasing for many of those affected is the prospect of a transfer company that offers qualifications and support in finding a job for six months from January - at 80 percent of the net salary, without any obligation to work. Over 90 percent of employees have decided to take advantage of this opportunity, but Leif Gentzel from IG Metall emphasizes that despite these measures, jobs could not be saved.
In a region where the automotive industry is so central, it is of great importance for the community and the unions to secure the livelihoods of employees and offer them long-term prospects. In times of upheaval, it will be crucial to find new ways to ensure work and livelihoods.
Look across the industries
The focus is now on showing the affected employees new perspectives and creating training positions for young engineers in order to avert a possible “de-industrialization” of Germany. The importance of local initiatives such as the job exchange in Gerstungen should not be underestimated - because perhaps the solution for many in the region is just one step away.
Whether with a new job or through the solidarity of the community, the paths to professional reorientation are diverse and timely.