Dear readers, This report describes what Daimler means by ...

Daimler 360 GRAD - FAKTEN zur Nachhaltigkeit 2008
Daimler Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2008 / Employees / Foreword
Dear readers,
Our employees play a key role in our business success, which is why Daimler’s commitment to social
responsibility begins with the men and women who work for us. Even in the aftermath of the Chrysler demerger,
Daimler remains a globally operating company with more than 272,000 employees. We took on more than
13,000 new members of staff around the world in 2007, 5,500 of whom were hired in Germany. At the same
time, some 14,500 employees left the company in 2007 (5,400 in Germany) either voluntarily or after having
reached retirement age. Restructuring measures remain necessary for maintaining our competitiveness. Only by
achieving business success can we continue to develop jobs over the long term.
The Human Resources department makes an important contribution to the sustained positive development of the
company. That’s why we have created the HR Sustainability Committee, which will address key personnel issues
and developments more closely in the future. The professional development of our employees will be a major
focus here, which is why we’re investing heavily in the associated measures. If we are able to further promote
employees’ talents and their intercultural and personal skills in line with our present and future needs, we will
remain successful as an organization. Daimler has also been making substantial investments to assist families
with children through our high-quality “Sternchen” daycare centers. In addition, our strategic human resources
planning units are currently assessing our future personnel needs in terms of both quality and quantity. By
comparing today’s situation with future scenarios that take into account the coming demographic changes, we
are obtaining the knowledge we need in order to plan future hiring operations, training measures, health
management policies etc. Providing excellent training opportunities remains a permanent obligation at the
Group, one that also benefits society as a whole. As a result, Daimler will continue to account for almost 40
percent of all trainee positions available in the German automotive industry.
Our corporate pension system is taking on much greater importance at the company as a result of demographic
developments. We are therefore cooperating with employee representatives to modernize this system and
prepare it for the future. The diversity of our workforce also requires professional management – and this is
especially true in Germany with regard to the percentage of women in managerial positions.
Another important human resources issue at Daimler is employee satisfaction, which we regularly measure
through employee surveys. Our overall employee satisfaction results in 2007 matched those of the prior year,
and in order to ensure that we continue to make progress in the future, we will utilize the survey results to
develop and implement specific measures.
Our employees are our future. They not only make our company what it is but also help to shape society in a
variety of ways, both inside and outside the organization. At the moment, for example, 96 Daimler staff members
are teaching at universities while continuing to perform their jobs at our company.
Günther Fleig
Member of the Board of Management
Human Resources and Labor Relations Director