Deutz To Invest In Its German Sites

Hard on the heels of its announcement of an engine tie up with John Deere Power Systems, Deutz said it plans to invest approximately €41 million in its German sites.

The news is part of a collective pay agreement Deutz and the IG Metall labor union have agreed with a three-year term.

The investment in the plants is in order to make them “more competitive and enhance their ability to innovate,” said Deutz adding that it will protect jobs and the sites in Cologne, Herschbach, and Ulm, Germany.

The third point, said Deutz, was ”savings on staff costs as a result of an unpaid increase in working hours and other financial contributions from all employees during the term of the agreement.”

This represents another major step in safeguarding the Company’s operations in Germany, following on from the signing of the ‘Deutz Pact for the Future – Transform for Growth’ key issues paper in August and the start of the volunteer program on September 1, 2020 that was included in the paper. These measures will also further strengthen the Company’s competitiveness.

“The action plan agreed today constitutes further progress in safeguarding the future viability of our Company. We are aware that, with the signing of this agreement, our employees are making a significant contribution to protecting jobs at our sites in Germany,” said Dr. Frank Hiller, Chairman of the Board of Management of DEUTZ.

He added:“The labor union, workforce, and the company have worked together in exemplary fashion to find a good solution.”

In a separate move last week Deutz and John Deere Power Systems announced plans to jointly develop and source components for a low horsepower range engine up to 130kW.

The co-development and co-sourcing scope includes engine hardware and design, from which each company will customize its product to meet customers’ specific needs through engine software and controls. Engine manufacturing and distribution will be done independently by John Deere and Deutz.