Background information

The IG Metall trade union has concluded a "future collective agreement" with Bosch Mobility to secure the company's future in the transformation process. Bosch Mobility is one of the largest suppliers for the automotive sector and therefore strongly affected by the challenges of the green transition. The agreement includes measures to increase the involvement of employees and the works council in the company's economic and strategic planning. In addition, it has been agreed that there will be no compulsory redundancies until the end of 2027, ensuring financial stability for employees. The collective agreement came into force at the beginning of 2024.

Content of measure

The "future collective agreement" negotiated by IG Metall and Bosch Mobility aims to secure the company's future in the green transformation process. To this end, measures have been agreed to actively involve employees in forward-looking planning. This means that the works councils are involved at an early stage in strategic and economic planning, for example in the selection of locations where a new product will be manufactured (e.g. in connection with e-mobility and hydrogen) and in the development of guiding principles for the future direction of the company. At all German sites covered by the collective bargaining agreement, annual goal-setting processes are to be carried out with the involvement of the works councils and employees, so that they can contribute ideas for shaping the future and help develop concepts. The parties also agreed to rule out compulsory redundancies until the end of 2027.

Use of measure

The collective agreement is applicable to 80,000 employees at all Bosch Mobility locations in Germany.

Contents

• Employment retention
• Work organisation

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Trade unions Company / Companies	Companies

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

The social partners, in particular IG Metall and the General Works Council, actively demanded their involvement in the design of the future collective agreement after Bosch initially planned the transformation without the involvement of the workforce. IG Metall and works councils are heavily involved in the development, implementation and monitoring, particularly through annual target-setting processes that involve associates and influence strategic planning.

Views and reactions

The responses of the social partners to the proposed 'Future Collective Agreement' are, for the most part, positive and supportive. The employers' side places considerable emphasis on the importance of the agreement for the strengthening of the social partnership, and regards cooperation with the trade unions as being of the utmost importance for competitiveness and the shaping of the future. IG Metall welcomes the outcome of the negotiations as an important step towards ensuring the future viability of the company and the security of its employees. However, it emphasises the necessity of a detailed elaboration of the agreed measures. Both parties acknowledge the significance of shared accountability and collaboration in the transformation of Bosch Mobility.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 04 July 2023: Future tariff at Bosch - jobs secure until 2027 (www.igmetall.de)
• 04 July 2023: ‘Collective agreement for the future": 80,000 jobs secured at Bosch (www.swr.de)
• 01 September 2023: Shaping the future at Bosch - through a collective agreement (www.igmetall.de)