German Works Council Wins AI Co-Determination Award as Studies Highlight Productivity Gains from Human-Machine Mix
24.06.2026 - 05:59:05 | boerse-global.de
The works council at MAN Truck & Bus SE's Munich plant has been awarded the Bavarian Co-Determination Prize 2026, an honour from the DGB Bayern union federation that recognises a company-wide framework agreement on the use of artificial intelligence. Bavarian Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder delivered the laudatory speech at the state chancellery.
Karina Schnur, chairwoman of the works council, stressed that the agreement's core purpose is to preserve worker representatives' co-determination rights even as technological innovation accelerates. The pact is designed to shape AI applications so they support employees rather than replace them. Horst Ott, head of the IG Metall union in Bavaria, noted that AI can improve competitiveness and safeguard jobs—provided workers' perspectives are consistently incorporated.
The standards hammered out at the Munich site have already been adopted by other brands within the MAN corporate group. The works council itself comprises 35 members, ten of whom are fully released from their regular duties for union work.
Broader Adoption Trends
The practical relevance of such agreements is underlined by fresh industry data. According to a Bitkom study from May 2026, 54.5 percent of German companies now use artificial intelligence. A separate PwC study suggests that a mixed strategy combining human labour with AI support could enable workforce growth of 52 percent, compared with just 36 percent under pure automation.
MAN is simultaneously pushing ahead with fleet electrification. Since series production began roughly a year ago, the Munich plant has built around 1,300 heavy-duty electric trucks. The company uses mixed production—electric and diesel vehicles roll off the same assembly line—with a daily capacity of about 100 trucks. To accompany this shift, MAN has already trained more than 5,000 of its 8,030 employees in high-voltage technology.
Contrasts at Volkswagen
While MAN emphasises consensual change management, worker representatives at other industry heavyweights report conflict. At a works meeting on 23 June 2026 in Baunatal, Volkswagen works council chief Carsten Büchling criticised the group's top management for poor communication. Speaking to roughly 6,000 employees, he referred to plans to cut up to 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030.
Despite these tensions, the operational utilisation of individual plants remains stable. According to site manager Ingo Spengler, around 50 percent of all electric drives for the Volkswagen group currently come from the Baunatal factory. Meanwhile, MAN is testing additional digital solutions: in collaboration with startup Fryte, the company is trialling reservable truck charging stations at its plants in Munich, Dachau and Nuremberg. Four transport-service providers are using the system to optimise their logistics processes.
