SICK Reaches Deal With Works Council on 450 Job Cuts Across Southern Baden Sites
Published on 08/07/2026 at 15:42 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The sensor manufacturer SICK has hammered out an agreement with its works council covering the elimination of roughly 450 positions in the Southern Baden region, a compromise that blends compulsory redundancies with natural staff turnover. The pact, which emerged in early August 2026, was formalised through a reconciliation of interests and a social plan designed to cushion the blow for affected employees.
Headquartered in Waldkirch, the company will concentrate the job reductions on its facilities in Waldkirch and Donaueschingen. Of the total positions slated for removal, 230 will be cut through active measures, while the remaining vacancies will simply be left unfilled as workers depart on their own. That split is intended to ease the strain on the core workforce.
Both management and employee representatives stressed that the approach had been crafted to be as gentle as possible, balancing the company's need for long-term economic stability against the workforce's demand for predictable, clearly defined protections under the social plan.
Legal Hurdles Remain Before Any Dismissals Take Effect
Because the reconciliation of interests and social plan were only recently concluded, no dismissals are automatically valid at this stage. Employment law experts point out that each individual termination must still clear a proper works council hearing and a legally sound social selection process. Factors such as length of service, age, maintenance obligations and any recognised disability status must be weighed against one another for every affected employee.
The scale of the reduction also triggers Germany's mass redundancy notification requirements. SICK must file a mandatory report with the relevant employment agency before any termination notices can be issued, demonstrating that all statutory steps to prevent or mitigate the consequences for workers have been satisfied.
Union Pressure Pays Off in Scaled-Back Plan
The run-up to the agreement saw heated disputes over how deep the cuts would go. IG Metall Freiburg reported strong mobilisation among its members inside the plant, and union representatives say that activism was instrumental in shrinking the original scope of the job losses.
The employee side had repeatedly underscored the importance of the Southern Baden sites in recent weeks. The compromise ultimately struck — pairing active redundancies with positions that will phase out through attrition — represents a softer landing than the initial drafts floated during negotiations. Management and the works council briefed staff promptly on the outcome, giving the sensor specialist's workforce greater clarity about the company's future shape.
