Contact established quickly between works councils

August 26, 2010

With its acquisition of IT service provider gedas, T-Systems also took over the more than 5,000 employees of the former Volkswagen subsidiary in 2006. Oliver Kohlhund saw this process through as the Deputy Chairman of the Central Works Council at gedas. Today he works at T-Systems as a SAP consultant and is a member of the Eschborn Works Council of the Middle and Northern Hesse Region.

Mr. Kohlhund, you were the Deputy Chairman of the Central Works Council at gedas AG when Volkswagen AG announced the sale of its subsidiary. How did you handle this?

Because no one knew who would take over gedas, uncertainty prevailed at the company. As a 100% subsidiary of Volkswagen AG we essentially only had this one customer. We were afraid that the new owner would try to cut jobs and close branches. When the merger with T-Systems was finally complete, everyone was very relieved that a German company had made it into the running.

Did you work together with T-Systems works council?

Of course, we quickly established informal contacts. We recognized early on that T-Systems had strong employee representation that would not allow personnel reductions. However, it also became clear to us that we would be working within entirely different structures. Naturally, at that time we did not know what this would mean concretely for each individual employee. Our T-Systems colleagues helped us by providing us with information about how such a merger goes.

What was particularly important from your perspective as a member of the works council for the transition to succeed?

Executive management assured us that all locations and jobs would be retained and that there would be no lay-offs due to redundancy. No one was to be disadvantaged from a financial or social benefits perspective either. This provided us with a sense of security. In order for our employees to be smoothly integrated into T-Systems we had to provide a bit of awareness training at the same time. Therefore, as a works council we were involved in everything: we participated in executive management informational meetings and organized our own events. We also answered a lot of questions over the course of the regular workday, for example in the break room or in the halls. T-Systems’ employee representation continually supported our work by being available to answer our questions and give feedback at any time and attending appointments and events as well. We were able to continue our support activities even after the two companies merged: thanks to a special regulation there was a works council in place for the new members of gedas for a period of two years.

Were the works council and the employees satisfied with how the transition went?

T-Systems delivered on all of its promises. No locations were closed. No one was hurt financially. We are very satisfied with the benefits T-Systems provides. Every former gedas member found a good place at T-Systems. Several employees at all levels even experienced career advancement. Because the core business at T-Systems is ICT, there are more opportunities. For example, other positions and fields are open to employees through internal training and education.

Do you still feel good at T-Systems?

I felt good at gedas and this is also the case at T-Systems. Naturally, there are highs and lows anywhere you work – nevertheless, here we are offered a significantly wider range of application and greater flexibility. There are many little things that are not a matter of course which the employees value about T-Systems.

Mr. Kohlhund, thank you for this interview.