In protest against the uncertain future of the Görlitz production site at train manufacturer Alstom, the Industrial Union of Metalworkers (IG Metall) has prematurely terminated the future collective agreement with the corporation, which was set to run until 2026.

"The Works Council and IG Metall aimed to make the sites more productive and thus competitive and future-proof with their 'Better-instead-of-cheaper' strategy," announced the Chairperson of the Works Council René Straube on Monday. However, Alstom "implemented the collective agreement poorly from the start."

The collective agreement concerned the Hennigsdorf, Görlitz, Bautzen, Siegen, and Kassel sites. The workers' side had waived holiday pay, among other things, to secure jobs. In return, Alstom had promised to continue investing in the German sites. However, the union criticized that the company had not kept to this. "As a result, IG Metall felt compelled to terminate the collective agreement and is now demanding the return of the retained money of the employees."

According to its own statements, Alstom is planning a strategic realignment in Germany and aims to focus on services, digitalization, and the interior fitting of trains in the future. However, in Görlitz, the car body shell construction is produced. This business area is currently declining, the company announced on Monday upon request. "However, it is not the time to draw immediate conclusions for the Görlitz site from this development," it continued. It is too early for that. Currently, the production of double-deck cars for Israel and various tram projects are underway at the Saxon plant.

The company continues to adhere to its commitments made in the collective bargaining agreement and is having the termination legally reviewed, Alstom further announced.

In Parisian trading, Alstom's stock rose temporarily by 4.57 percent to 19.55 euros.