Daimler Annual Report 2011 - Alle jaarverslagen

Extension of measures to secure future employment.
The Board of Management and the General Works Council of
Daimler AG reached a company agreement in October 2011
under the title of “Daimler Future Safeguarding.” This essentially
extends until 2016 the contents of the “Future Safe -
guarding 2012” agreement, which had been in place since 2004.
For permanent employees of Daimler AG, it means that there
will be no dismissals for operational reasons at least until the
end of the period. In return, the company continues to dispose
of the flexibility required to cope with varying production
capacities at individual plants. The new company agreement
took effect on January 1, 2012.
Profit sharing. In view of the positive business development in
the year 2010, Daimler’s Board of Management and General
Works Council agreed that the special efforts made by the
workforce would be rewarded with a high performance participation
bonus: At the end of April 2011, €3,150 was paid
out to each eligible employee of Daimler AG. For the first
time, apprentices, students from the cooperative state universities
and doctoral students also benefited from this bonus.
Due to Daimler’s success in 2011, the Board of Management
and the General Works Council have agreed that the
workforce’s performance will again be rewarded with a high
performance participation bonus: In Germany, each eligible
employee of Daimler AG will receive an amount of €4,100 at
the end of April 2012.
Average age. The average age of our employees worldwide
in 2011 was 41.9 (2010: 41.9). In Germany, the average age
of the employees was 43.0. These average ages will continue
to increase over the coming years.
In order to meet the challenges presented by this demographic
development, we started the Generation Management human
resources initiative in 2011 under the motto of “Experience
into the Future.” It comprises several measures to ensure
that we continue to have a competitive workforce also in the
future. For example, human resources management was
implemented at additional sites during the year under review.
In this way, we intend to ensure that we continue to have suitable
employees in the right numbers and with the right qualifications
in the long term.
Further increases in employees’ average period at the
Group and in the proportion of women in management
positions. The average period for which Daimler employees
have been at the Group was almost unchanged at 15.9 years
in 2011 (2010: 16.0). At the end of the year, Daimler Group
employees in Germany had been with us for an average of 18.8
years (2010: 18.7); the average for employees of Daimler AG
was 19.0 years (2010: 18.9). The average period for our employees
outside Germany was 11.2 years (2010: 11.3). Women
accounted for 13.9% of the total workforce of Daimler AG at
the end of 2011 (2010: 13.5%). In management positions of
Levels 1 to 4, the proportion of women increased from last
year’s 11.6% to 12.4%.
Procurement
Global procurement activities. The Daimler Group’s procurement
organization consists of three departments – Procurement
Mercedes-Benz Cars and Vans, Procurement Daimler
Trucks and Buses, and International Procurement Services
for non-production materials – and is present at more than 50
locations all over the world. The goal of the procurement
organization is to create the world’s most effective supplier
network and thus to contribute to Daimler’s overall success.
The best suppliers are recognized each year for their outstanding
performance with the Daimler Supplier Award.
Performance-oriented partnership with our suppliers.
Under the “Commitment to Excellence” motto, the Daimler
Supplier Network (DSN) defines the business philosophy of
Daimler’s procurement organization. Its principles are per -
formance and partnership: With the help of the external balanced
scorecard, suppliers’ performance is measured in the categories
of quality, technology, costs and reliability. To us, partner -
ship means fairness, dependability and credibility. The quality
of such partnerships proved its worth in the year under review:
The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan of March
11, 2011 had severe consequences for the country, its population
and its industry – including for many Daimler suppliers.
We provided direct support to our suppliers and their employees.
We also sought to restart and stabilize the production of
vehicles as quickly as possible. Thanks to intensive cooperation
with our suppliers, we were able to restore the supply chain
soon after the disaster.
Prices of raw materials remain volatile. After significant
rises in raw-material prices in the prior year, this trend continued
at the beginning of 2011. Market uncertainty due to the Euro -
pean debt crisis caused prices to remain constant or fall for Many
raw materials as of mid-2011. The general development of
raw-material prices and above all the sharp price fluctuations
in 2011 were affected by international economic expectations,
which changed considerably during the year, as well as
by volatile financial and capital markets. Daimler protects
itself against price fluctuations with a number of measures,
including long-term agreements and hedging transactions.
Risk management continues to prove its worth. In the year
2011, we continued to regularly monitor the financial development
of our suppliers in the context of our risk management.
We focused on refinancing, the development of working capital
and the continuation of productivity-enhancing projects from
crisis year 2009. We have so far been able to avoid any major
production losses. But due to the great importance of suppliers
for our production processes, the Daimler Supplier Risk
Board convenes regularly. If required, it also develops and
decides on measures so that we can react at short notice to
any potential supplier insolvencies.
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