Knorr-Bremse stops transfer of production at Hasse & Wrede

“Together with the Works Council, who in the last few days have joined with the workforce to draw up further proposed improvements, we have been able to agree on a joint solution which ensures that Hasse & Wrede and the associated 109 jobs at the company will remain in place,” said Klaus Deller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG. “While the additional contributions by the workforce do not fully offset the commercial impact of dispensing with the transfer solution, we have nevertheless decided that Hasse & Wrede will remain in Berlin. This is intended not least to support the place where our company was founded, as Berlin is currently going through a difficult period in terms of employment policy. It also shows that Knorr-Bremse can work directly with its internal codetermination partners to achieve good results between management and workforce that ensure the company’s competitiveness and at the same time safeguard jobs. As a family-owned company that sets high standards in terms of fairness and responsibility, we have acted in line with our corporate values.”

The transfer of production from Berlin to Liberec in the Czech Republic and to locations in North America and Asia was announced in February 2017 and was originally due to commence early in 2018 and be completed by the end of 2018. Specific scopes of production for customers in Japan and North America will be transferred to Knorr-Bremse plants in the vicinity of these customers as originally planned. However, this transfer does not affect the permanent workforce of Hasse & Wrede in Berlin. The partial transfer of production to North America and Asia will meet the domestic content requirements of engine manufacturers there, as well as safeguarding Hasse & Wrede’s business with these customers.