EU Court Ruling Bolsters Employee Wage Protection Amid Wave of German Factory Relocations
16.06.2026 - 09:43:18 | boerse-global.de
The European Court of Justice handed down two decisions last Thursday that significantly tighten worker safeguards during business transfers. In case C?216/25, the court ruled that any outstanding wage claims automatically pass to the new employer when a business changes hands — without requiring the employee’s consent. Both the seller and the buyer are jointly liable for those debts.
In a separate case, C?136/25, the ECJ addressed temporary agency work. It declared that the transferor and the transferee must be treated as a single hiring entity for the purpose of calculating the maximum allowable duration of staff leasing. This closes a loophole that could have allowed companies to circumvent the statutory time limit by swapping contract partners.
The rulings arrive as major German manufacturers accelerate production shifts, often with significant job losses.
Meatpacking and Dairy: Brands Move East
Eberswalder Wurst and the IHK Ostbrandenburg reached an agreement on Tuesday governing the future use of a regional label. The pact follows the planned closure of the company’s main plant in Britz at the end of February 2026. Production will continue at three other eastern German sites — Chemnitz, Suhl and Zerbst. The IHK retains the rights to the collective trademarks until 30 November 2027. As compensation for the loss of manufacturing in the Barnim district, the company will make a one-off payment of €100,000 to local social institutions and economic development.
Elsewhere, the Müller dairy group is pressing ahead with the consolidation of its Landliebe brand. The Schefflenz plant has been idle since 2024, and the Heilbronn site is being progressively wound down, with a full shutdown expected by the end of the year. About 200 jobs are affected. Production will move to Leppersdorf in Saxony and Aretsried in Bavaria, a shift driven by an investment backlog of more than €50 million at the old locations.
Nestlé has already ceased making its Thomy brand products in Neuss. Mustard and cream remoulade production has stopped, eliminating 148 positions. The company cited rising costs, overcapacity and high consumer price sensitivity. Tube products will now be concentrated at its Lüdinghausen site.
The pattern extends beyond food. Canon closed its factory in Korat, Thailand, last Friday after shipping its final batch of inkjet printers and paper processing systems. The electronics group is reorganising its production network.
From Vans to Armoured Vehicles
Mercedes?Benz is taking a different approach at its plant in Ludwigsfelde, Brandenburg. Rather than shutting down, the factory will be transformed. The current assembly of the Sprinter van is to be relocated to Poland by 2029. In parallel, the site will be converted to produce the „Boxer“ wheeled armoured vehicle in partnership with the defence group KNDS, whose order book stood at roughly €33 billion at the end of 2025. KNDS aims to sextuple output of the model by 2030. For the approximately 1,600 employees in Ludwigsfelde, the shift could provide a long?term future outside traditional automotive manufacturing.
Regional Chamber Rebrands
Amid these industrial upheavals, a quieter change: the full assembly of the IHK Gießen?Friedberg voted unanimously yesterday to rename itself IHK Hessen Mitte. The move is intended to boost the visibility of the Gießen, Vogelsberg and Wetterau districts. Approval from the Hessian economics ministry is still pending.
