Germany news: Mercedes-Benz workers protest cost cutting

Germany news: Mercedes-Benz workers protest cost cutting Published July 3, 2026last updated July 3, 2026What you need to know - Thousands of Mercedes-Benz workers are set to protest across Germany - Labor union IG Metall has called rallies outside major factory sites - Firefighters rescued two window cleaners from a high-rise in Frankfurt am Main. - Their suspended platform became stuck around the 44th floor Here are the latest headlines from Germany on Friday, July 3, 2026: Customs seize 16 kg of ketamine at Berlin airport Customs officials have revealed that they seized 16 kilograms (just over 35 pounds) of ketamine from a traveler at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The 22-year-old was stopped in early June while traveling from Berlin to Zurich, with a final destination of Hong Kong. Officials said eight vacuum-sealed bags containing a white crystalline substance were found hidden among clothes in his luggage. A test using a detection device identified the substance as ketamine hydrochloride. Customs officers arrested the man at the departure gate after he had passed the boarding checkpoint. They said he was forced to the ground and handcuffed because of possible resistance, flight risk, the high potential sentence and suspected links to organized crime. Officers seized the ketamine and his mobile phone as evidence. The case has been handed to the Berlin-Brandenburg customs investigation office. Ketamine hydrochloride is used in medicine as a painkiller and anesthetic. On the black market, it is also used as a party drug because it can have disinhibiting and euphoric effects and, at higher doses, trigger hallucinations. Window cleaners rescued from high-rise platform in Frankfurt Firefighters have rescued two window cleaners from a faulty suspended platform on a high-rise in Frankfurt am Main. The platform initially became stuck on the facade at about the 44th floor, before coming loose and putting the two workers in danger, a fire service spokesperson said. Specialist height rescuers used a winch to pull the men up one by one, lifting them 11 floors to safety. The fire service said it was believed to be the "highest rescue operation in an urban area in Germany." A total of 24 firefighters were involved, including five height rescue specialists. Officials said a technical fault was likely to blame. Mercedes workers protest tougher cost cuts Thousands of Mercedes-Benz workers are set to protest across Germany against the carmaker’s tougher cost-cutting drive. Germany's largest trade union IG Metall called the demonstrations outside factory gates, with rallies planned at sites including Sindelfingen, Untertürkheim, Rastatt, Bremen, Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf. The union said the Mercedes protests would mark the start of further action across the auto industry. It accused carmakers and suppliers of focusing on job cuts and relocation rather than real solutions, saying around 50,000 jobs were cut in the sector last year. "The employees are not to blame for the crisis," IG Metall said. In a letter to workers in Germany, the board said the company must keep cutting costs to remain competitive. "Despite all our efforts, the situation in Germany today is dramatic," it said. Mercedes said it took employees' concerns seriously and wanted to inform staff early and transparently, including on difficult decisions. As an immediate step, around 90,000 of the company’s roughly 108,000 employees in Germany will not receive a collectively agreed special payment in July as expected. The payment, worth 18.4% of a single monthly wage, is to be postponed until next year. Mercedes also said it wanted to speed up processes, streamline structures and make hourly labor costs cheaper. Welcome to our coverage Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn. You join us as the automaker Mercedes-Benz faces a wave of protests in Germany as workers push back against a tougher cost-cutting drive. The IG Metall union says staff are being made to pay for a crisis they did not cause. Over in Frankfurt am Main, firefighters carried out a high-rise rescue when window cleaners got stuck on a faulty suspended platform. Stay with us for these stories and more of the things that Germany is talking about today.