Downsizing and improving a German plant
The Situation
A Swedish Tier 1 supplier needed to restructure its supply chain in order to stay competitive. As part of the restructuring program, its German plant had to be downsized and parts of the production moved to other sites.
To lead the program the CEO decided to use an external management company.
The Solution
The client asked a WIL Group member to put in place a Plant Manager specifically tasked to:
Build a strong management team
Instil motivation, commitment and responsibility among all employees encouraging proactive and continuous improvement
Down-size by moving specific processes to other sites and reducing the corresponding complexity costs
Introduce 3-shift operations (as agreed with unions) to increase asset productivity
Secure a sufficient number of voluntary departures of employees in the 53 to 63 year old category