Magna to close plant in Dorfprozelten: 216 employees affected

Back in 2023, Magna had already threatened to close the plant. At the time, the company and IG Metall agreed on a framework paper that was supposed to ensure the site's continuation with at least 250 employees until the end of 2028. At the time of that agreement, the plant still employed around 450 people. Contrary to the commitments made three years ago, no new products had been placed at the site, nor had any been relocated from other sites to Dorfprozelten, the union criticized.

IG Metall criticizes broken commitments

In a statement on Monday, Magna Germany declared that, despite financial investments and implemented cost reduction measures over the past years, the future viability of the site had not been maintained. At the same time, the company emphasized that the closure of the Dorfprozelten plant is unrelated to Magna Steyr in Graz. These are completely separate and independent corporate entities.

Magna was founded by Austrian-Canadian Frank Stronach and employs 154,000 people globally across 28 countries. At the Graz site, where Magna Steyr as a complete vehicle manufacturer has so far produced 39 different models for 13 different OEMs, approximately 12,000 employees are based. More than 4 million vehicles have come off the production line there to date.

Magna at a glance

The union also pointed out that substantial public funding from the Free State of Bavaria had been used for the development and marketing of LC technology. Christoph Curs of IG Metall critically noted that, despite this public funding, the future technology would now not be pursued further. The union announced it would carefully examine its next steps.

For the region in the Miltenberg district, the planned closure represents a severe blow. The workers face an uncertain future, while the union insists on adherence to the 2023 agreement. No further details were initially known regarding a possible social plan or negotiations on severance payments.

Magna is represented at several locations in Germany. The group is one of the world's largest automotive suppliers and is active primarily in vehicle assembly and component manufacturing. The decision regarding Dorfprozelten comes at a time when the entire automotive industry is under heavy cost pressure and undergoing a profound structural transformation.