AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)07/12 Report--

20 people were diagnosed with a gathering epidemic at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Germany. COVID-19 has been confirmed at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Dusseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, according to CCTV news.

According to the report, 20 employees at the factory have tested positive for the virus, and another 50 employees in the factory are in quarantine.

In response to the matter, the president of the factory union said that 20 was not much compared to the total of 8500 employees.

A spokesman for the local health department said Mercedes-Benz's protective measures were cautious and it was not clear whether employees were infected in the working environment.

Due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the output of the German automobile industry has been seriously frustrated. According to the report, German production in the important automobile industry has fallen by nearly 54% to the level of 1993.

As of July 11, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Germany rose to 199332 and the number of deaths increased to 9063.

Daimler held a shareholders' meeting on July 8 to release first-half sales figures and second-quarter financial forecasts. Kanglinsong, CEO of Daimler, said it expected operating income to decline in the second quarter, with adjusted EBIT and negative free cash flow in the car business, so further cost cuts were needed, and the company was already in talks with labor representatives on cost savings.

In the first half of this year, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz brand sold 935000 new cars worldwide, down 17.6 per cent from a year earlier. The Chinese market is Mercedes-Benz's biggest sales contribution, delivering a total of 346000 new cars in China in the first half of the year, up 0.4 per cent from a year earlier. In the second quarter after the epidemic was brought under control, Mercedes-Benz sold 207000 new cars in China, a year-on-year increase of 21.6%.

Daimler announced plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs in November, and Mr Kang further said further action was needed because the global recession was not taken into account when setting cost targets last year. In addition, Daimler plans to sell its factory in Hambach, France, where smart models originally produced will be transferred to China.

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