2024-03-29 11:24:05
According to several statements by the chairman of the supervisory board of the chainsaw manufacturer Stihl, some fear that the company will leave the company. The decision has not yet been made.
In an ARD interview, the chairman of the supervisory board of the world’s leading German chain saw manufacturer Stihl, Nikolas Stihl, complains about excessive taxes and the possible consequences of introducing the four-day week. The chairman of the supervisory board had already indicated in an interview with the “Handelsblatt” that he no longer considered Germany to be competitive in terms of location. At the time, Stihl described the introduction of a four-day week with full wage compensation, as demanded by parts of the political establishment, as “out of the question”.
Stihl also produces parts of its chainsaws in Switzerland. As the chairman of the supervisory board explains in the ARD interview, the overall costs of production in Switzerland are now cheaper than in Germany – despite higher wages. Overall, a positive commitment to Germany as a location looks different.
At the end of February, several media companies probably also thought and prematurely analyzed that Stihl was planning to relocate its production facilities from Germany to Switzerland. The station’s article says exactly: “According to the kitchen appliance manufacturer [Miele] The next traditional company now wants to leave Germany: Stihl. The chainsaw manufacturer wants to move to expensive Switzerland – and that should even save costs.
No migration to Switzerland planned
But as t-online has now learned from Stihl, there are no plans for the company to move out of Germany. A company spokesman confirmed this upon request. A partial relocation of the company is not planned at this point. That’s what Stihl’s answer says.
“No. No location decision has been made for a factory. In due course we will examine all available options – including Switzerland, because Stihl has always produced the chains for our chainsaws at its production site there.” In addition, there is “no pressure to make a decision” for Stihl at this point, as the existing rail production for the chainsaws in Waiblingen-Neustadt is secured “until at least 2030”.
Fundamental decision is pending – dissatisfaction remains
Another reason for the speculation was that Stihl has no longer operated the logistics location in Ludwigsburg since 2018. The building was getting old and no longer met the requirements. As an alternative, a location in Switzerland could now be examined, where saw chains are already manufactured for worldwide distribution. If the company decides on this location, Stihl says it plans to relocate production of the entire cutting set for the chainsaws to Switzerland.
A fundamental decision in corporate strategy has not yet been made. Nevertheless, the rhetoric of the family business and many other companies should alarm politicians. Already in January of this year, 50 leading German companies signed an incendiary letter to politicians.
The family business Stihl currently has around 6,000 employees in Germany – the company’s headquarters are in Waiblingen near Stuttgart. The company employs 20,500 people worldwide and, according to its own information, recorded sales of around 5.5 billion euros in 2022.