Almost two-thirds of the workforce at the MAN Truck & Bus company in Steyr, Upper Austria, voted on April 7 to oppose the sale of the plant to Austrian investor Siegfried Wolf. MAN Truck & Bus is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Autos, and its management confronted the workforce with the alternative of either agreeing to the sale or accepting the closure of the plant in 2023.
Ninety-four percent of the factory’s 2,356 workers took part in the vote, with 1,415 (64 percent) voting against the sale. Twenty-seven votes were invalid, and 773 workers voted in favour because this minority irritated by the investor’s promises and fears that all jobs would be lost hoped to continue working in a new company. In fact, there is no guarantee they will retain their jobs in the case that the company is sold.