Industry in Saxony | Bosch's "abandoned children" in Sebnitz

These statements must sound like a mockery to the employees of Bosch Power Tools in Sebnitz. "Our employees are important to us," the company writes in a brief profile of the plant in East Saxony; it sees itself as responsible for "protecting them from harm." In fact, the company is currently inflicting the greatest possible harm on its workforce, having announced that it will close the branch at the end of 2026.

The Sebnitz plant, which belongs to the company's tools division and manufactures angle grinders and rotary hammers for professionals and DIY enthusiasts, is one of the smaller of Bosch's approximately 100 locations in Germany. The company's website lists a workforce of 450, although this figure is no longer accurate. Currently, 280 people work at the plant. This represents less than 1.5 percent of the 18,700 employees working in the Power Tools division worldwide.

The division will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary. In 1928, Bosch, previously a supplier to the automotive industry , was looking for alternative fields of activity in the face of a crisis in the industry and developed an electric hair clipper. This later led to drills and other handheld power tools.

In Sebnitz, where power tools have been manufactured for 80 years, a milestone was celebrated two years ago in the presence of Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU): the production of 75 million power tools. By this time, however, a gradual decline had already set in. Unit sales were declining, jobs were being cut, apprentice training was reduced, and finally discontinued completely this year. At the beginning of April, it was announced that the site would be closed entirely – as would the much larger headquarters of the Power Tools division in Leinefelde-Echterdingen (Baden-Württemberg), where, according to the company, 1,800 people work.

In the south of Germany, Bosch is certainly one of many industrial employers. In Sebnitz, located in the rear part of Saxon Switzerland, directly on the border with the Czech Republic, it is the only one. The IG Metall union calls it a "beacon as a collective bargaining-bound company." Ronald Kretschmar, the mayor of the town with a population of just over 16,000, who learned of the closure plans from the newspaper, fears exodus and a further "bleeding out" of the structurally weak region , which relies largely on tourism: "This is a huge blow to the entire region." He considers the company's actions disappointing. "Unlike small businesses, I generally expect an economically strong corporation to have plans in place to survive a recession," he explained. "Throwing in the towel cannot be the solution."

Bosch cites poor figures as the reason for its planned withdrawal. The site has been "under intense price and competitive pressure for some time," a spokesperson explained. The Industry and Crafts division, of which the tools division is a small part, recorded a 13 percent decline in sales last year. This is evident from the company's 2024 annual report, presented at the beginning of May, which also reveals that the dividend, which had been €170 the previous year, rose to €186 .

"This is a huge blow to the entire region."

Ronald Kretzschmar, Lord Mayor

The workforce is disillusioned by management's actions. Its actions "do not represent the values ​​Bosch once stood for," said Jens Ehrlichmann, head of the Sebnitz works council. The company is now a "public company that wants returns at any price." He is speechless at the way the employees are being treated, who have ensured the plant's success for years and now feel like "outcast children." Uwe Garbe, the representative of IG Metall in East Saxony, finds it "shocking that someone simply can't get enough." The closure plans are a "scandal that must be fought with all means at our disposal."

The first actions were taken. At the beginning of April, the workforce responded to the news of the closure with a gathering in front of the factory gate. This Saturday, a rally followed at the Sebnitz market square with several hundred participants, some of whom came from other industrial companies in the region. An online petition calling for the preservation of the Sebnitz plant has so far been signed by 3,000 people.

At the same time, IG Metall and the works council are negotiating with the company – so far without result. They had presented alternative concepts for the site, including tool recycling. These proposals have not yet been addressed. The company is determined to relocate tool production abroad and discontinue it in Germany, Ehrlichmann told MDR: "Bosch is completely fed up." If this remains the case, Mayor Kretzschmar is demanding a "Plan B" be implemented and a successor for the plant be sought. The state government has already set up a working group for this purpose.