Workforce development

On December 31, 2007, Daimler had 272,382 employees worldwide (2006: 274,024). Of these, 166,679 were employed in Germany (2006: 166,592) and 24,053 were employed in the United States (2006: 27,629). The number of trainees in 2007 was 9,300 (2006: 9,352). The decrease in workforce numbers compared with 2006 was primarily due to implementation of the New Management Model and other efficiency enhancement measures.

Mercedes-Benz Cars employed 97,526 people at the end of last year (2006: 99,343). The development of staffing levels varied within the Daimler Trucks division. Whereas headcounts in Europe and Brazil increased sharply as a result of strong demand, we had to reduce employment levels in North America due to the market downturn. At the end of 2007, Daimler Trucks employed 80,067 persons (2006: 83,237). At 6,743, the number of employees at Daimler Financial Services in 2007 was 1 percent lower than in the prior year (6,813). Especially as a result of strong worldwide demand for the Sprinter model, we significantly increased the headcount at Mercedes-Benz Vans to 17,524 employees (2006: 15,591), above all at the Düsseldorf plant. The number of employees at Daimler Buses also increased, to 17,286 (2006: 16,884).

Implementation of the New Management Model, presented in January 2006, continued according to plan in 2007 – administrative functions around the world were consolidated and processes standardized. Workforce adjustments in administrative departments also proceeded on schedule.