4-day week model

Liebherr back to full-time, iDM continues four days

The Liebherr plant in Lienz is running in full-time mode again(Bild: Martin Oberbichler)

The 4-day week at the Liebherr plant in East Tyrol ended as planned in December. A second industrial giant in the region, iDM, is now extending this model until May after all. The "Krone" knows the background.

It came as a shock to many when it was announced in October 2024 that the heat pump manufacturer iDM in Matrei was sending employees from logistics and production to a 4-day week. An internal agreement was reached in response to the order situation at the time and the effects of stock levels. By mutual agreement, the company switched to the new model by the end of January. Specifically, this involved a 20% reduction in capacity. iDM paid a voluntary bonus to cushion salary losses.

Production at iDM in Matrei will continue to run four days a week.(Bild: Martin Oberbichler)

The "Krone" inquired whether these measures were lifted as announced at the end of January. In a statement, it said: "The 4-day week for production and logistics, which was introduced in October in agreement with the employees and the works council, has been extended until the end of May." This will allow the company to react more flexibly to the current very dynamic developments. The statement continues: "In principle, however, we expect demand to recover and pick up again in 2025."

Capacity utilization at the plant in Lienz will increase as planned in 2025, in particular due to the start of production of the new equipment category.

Holger König, kaufmännischer GF am Standort Lienz

Liebherr employees back in action as usual
Liebherr also implemented a similar model in Lienz. As reported, planned short-time working was rejected in August. There was a 4-day week until the end of the year. This affected 700 employees in production and production-related areas. "The measure expired as planned at the end of 2024," confirms Holger König, Commercial Director at the Lienz site, adding: "We wanted to hold on to our valuable core workforce and make savings in a socially responsible way. Our stated goal was also to have the capacity available for the start-up of a new appliance line at the beginning of 2025."

König is cautiously optimistic for the rest of the year, but will have to wait and see the political situation in Austria and Germany as well as global uncertainties: "The capacity utilization of the plant in Lienz will increase as planned in 2025, especially due to the start of production of the new equipment category."