The shareholders of Daimler AG have voted to reorganize the Daimler Group by a large majority at the Annual Meeting in Berlin. This clears the way for the Group to place its car and van business as well as its truck and bus business into two legally independent entities by way of a spin-off.
This project, called PROJECT FUTURE, will take effect when the hive-down is entered in the commercial register at Stuttgart District Court. The start of the new company structure is targeted for November 1, 2019. From that date onwards, Mercedes-Benz AG will be responsible for the current Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans divisions, while Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses will be joined in Daimler Truck AG. Daimler Financial Services AG, which is already legally independent, will be called Daimler Mobility AG from July 24, 2019 on. The two new companies, like the current Daimler AG and the future Daimler Mobility AG, will be co-determined German stock corporations with registered offices in Stuttgart.
“Today, the shareholders of Daimler AG have approved our plans for a new, modern Group structure. This was the decisive step for us to start with our new structure in November. Daimler has the ambition to be a leader in the new era of mobility. This demands the highest degree of innovation and agility in order to react quickly to changes. The new structure will enhance our ability to act in a dynamically growing competitive environment, including in terms of raising capital. It will also let us to better respond to customer and market needs. With this new structure, we want to offer our employees a long-term perspective. We are in agreement with the employee representatives on this. With today’s decision and the reorganization of the Daimler Group, we are setting the course for our company and its workforce to be successful also in the future era of mobility,” said Manfred Bischoff, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG.
Daimler AG as a publicly listed parent company, will perform the functions of governance, strategy and control, and will provide group-wide services. With three strong entities under a common umbrella, the Daimler Group will be more flexible and focused. With the new structure, Daimler wants to give its divisions more entrepreneurial freedom, increase market and customer orientation, and make cooperation easier and faster. By focusing the new companies on their customers, markets and core competencies, new growth and earnings potential can be utilized. In addition, the strengthening of the divisional structure serves the objective of retaining existing investors over the long-term and attracting new investors and partners.
“The new structure is a clear forward strategy that will make us stronger and protect long-term employment. For us as the General Works Council, this was the top priority for all decisions on Project Future right from the start. The agreement we have negotiated in connection with Project Future puts security for our employees first and foremost: This agreement rules out redundancies for Daimler AG employees until 2030. A commitment ensures an appropriate task for every employee in times of change. In addition, the German plants will benefit from an investment commitment of €35 billion. We will continue to take care of the interests of our employees in the future with a groupwide works council. The new entities will be co-determined with equal representation in their supervisory boards. The mobility of the future will be exciting and offers many new opportunities. We at Daimler will take advantage of them,” said Michael Brecht, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Chairman of the General Works Council of Daimler AG.