Lüneburg/Norderstedt – Das Unternehmen zählt zu den bekanntesten Herstellern von Gabelstaplern. Besonders in Europa ist es stark vertreten. Doch jetzt schließt Jungheinrich ein deutsches Werk und baut 500 Arbeitsplätze in Deutschland ab. Dabei ist das betroffene Werk profitabel.
Spätestens Ende März 2027 soll die Produktion in Lüneburg dichtmachen. Das steht nach monatelangen Verhandlungen fest. 160 Mitarbeiter verlieren dort ihre Arbeitsplätze. An dem Standort bleiben nur Konstruktion und Verwaltung mit 125 Stellen erhalten.
Wo die 500 Arbeitsplätze in Deutschland wegfallen
Der Jobabbau trifft noch mehr Beschäftigte des Unternehmens. „Rund 1000 Stellen werden weltweit abgebaut. Davon approximately half will be eliminated in Germany,” a company spokesperson told BILD. The cuts will be felt most acutely at the company’s facilities in Lüneburg (Lower Saxony) and Norderstedt (Schleswig-Holstein), with each location losing jobs in the triple digits. Additional positions will be eliminated at the company’s headquarters in Hamburg and within its sales organization. “The remaining approximately 500 positions are distributed across our 41 foreign organizations,” the spokesperson added.
Auch in dieser Fabrik in Norderstedt baut Jungheinrich Arbeitsplätze ab
Das passiert mit den Mitarbeitern
For employees in Lüneburg, the company and the IG Metall union have agreed to a social plan. The agreement includes severance packages and the establishment of a transfer company to assist workers in finding novel employment. A Jungheinrich spokesperson described the agreement as a “socially acceptable solution,” adding that the conclusion is “an critical step” in the company’s transformation program.
While the IG Metall union considers the outcome a success, it maintains that the plant closure is a mistake. “We are not talking about a case of restructuring at Jungheinrich in Lüneburg, but about the abandonment of a profitable production facility,” said Lennard Aldag of IG Metall Celle-Lüneburg. In 2024, the publicly traded Jungheinrich AG reported a surplus of 289 million euros with revenues of approximately 5.4 billion euros. The company aims to increase revenue to ten billion euros by 2030.
Fertige Gabelstapler des Unternehmens stehen zum Abtransport bereit
Production workers had been on an indefinite strike since November 20, according to the union, repeatedly halting production for over 80 days.
Gründe für die Sparmaßnahmen
The cost-cutting program is also driven by increasing price pressure. Products from Chinese manufacturers, while not technically comparable, are significantly cheaper. In the mid-range segment, forklifts from Asia cost only about half the price of Jungheinrich models. Simultaneously, Jungheinrich is collaborating with competitors: the company has been distributing vehicles from EP, the third-largest Chinese manufacturer, in Europe since last fall through a joint venture.
