Company-level collective agreements during the 2008-2010 crisis: four cases from Germany

Abstract

Between autumn 2008 and spring 2010, the German economy faced the most serious economic downturn since World War II. Demand, orders, output and profits declined in many sectors and for many companies at unprecedented rates. The German federal government, the state governments and the social partners have introduced and/or adapted a wide range of policy instruments to cope with the crisis. In addition to unilateral use by management of a wide range of policies to address the declining demand for products and labour, joint activities on the part of management, trade unions and/or works councils sought to address the situation through agreements on cost-cutting programmes. This article analyses four cases of company-level ‘concession’ bargaining during the peak time of the crisis (2009) in Germany and considers how the social partners might help enterprises to maintain employment in the face of a crisis situation.