Press Release No. 02/2012 IG Metall: Partial victory for Manroland workforce – MAN and Allianz face up to their social...

Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall has welcomed the commitments from MAN and Allianz to provide 24 million euros in core funding for training and outplacement agencies at the Manroland sites. Insolvency administrator Schneider and Jürgen Kerner, deputy chairman of the Manroland supervisory board and executive board member of IG Metall, received these commitments from board members of both corporations. “Following constructive discussions, both companies have stated that they will not leave Manroland employees who cannot be retained following the insolvency out in the cold and will contribute financially to potential solutions,” Kerner announced on Monday in Frankfurt. “These commitments show that both companies are acknowledging their shared responsibility toward Manroland’s employees,” Kerner said.

“The amount of the financial contribution is a compromise. Of course, it could have been more, since the loss of many jobs must be expected,” the union representative emphasized. “But time is of the essence; negotiations at the company level regarding a reconciliation of interests and a social plan must be concluded by the end of January.” Financing an employment and transfer company would not be feasible without significant financial participation from the existing shareholders.

Training and transition companies would be necessary, as not all jobs could be preserved—neither if an investor were to take over one of the Manroland sites nor if the insolvency administrator were to temporarily continue operations on its own.

The priority now must be to develop future plans for the Manroland sites by early February in collaboration with the insolvency administrator and potential investors. Politicians must also play a role in this effort. “Every new company needs financial support in the form of guarantees or loans, and this must be provided without months of scrutiny of the plans. Just as straightforwardly as the banks were helped with the bailout package, support for the continuation of Manroland must now be provided,” Kerner demanded. He stated that the ministers of economic affairs and the state premiers of the involved states—Bavaria, Hesse, and Saxony—have a duty to act here.

Kerner announced that IG Metall and the works councils will continue to monitor the actions of policymakers, the insolvency administrator, and potential investors in a constructive yet critical manner. The goal is to permanently preserve as many jobs as possible at all locations and to structure any unavoidable job cuts in such a way that affected employees in the region can find alternative employment.