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Mercedes CEO Rebuffed Pitch to Move Headquarters to US
Company Later Announced Plans to Shift Production of an SUV to Existing Alabama Plant
Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s CEO turned down a Trump Cabinet secretary’s attempt to lure the manufacturer’s headquarters to the U.S. from Germany, where its roots date to the invention of the automobile.
In an interview with The Pioneer, a German media outlet, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made the overture roughly a year ago, dangling tax relief and other incentives.
Although Källenius declined, Mercedes later announced plans to shift production of a sport utility vehicle from Germany to its existing plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“The star has been a global company for more than 100 years, but we are rooted in Swabia,” Källenius said, referring to Mercedes’ logo and the region home to its headquarters and several factories. “Those roots cannot — and should not — be pulled out of the ground.”
The exchange Källenius described sheds new light on the lengths President Donald Trump’s administration has gone to coax investment from European companies at the expense of their home countries. The president has long criticized Germany’s automotive trade imbalance with the U.S. and specifically lamented the prevalence of Mercedes cars on the streets surrounding Trump Tower.
Mercedes is a top employer in Stuttgart, with factories producing everything from its flagship S-Class sedans to AMG sports car engines clustered near its global headquarters. Along with Porsche AG, Robert Bosch GmbH and Daimler Truck Holding AG, the manufacturer forms the backbone of Germany’s advanced manufacturing heartland and is central to the country’s export-led economic model.
Källenius has repeatedly condemned German bureaucracy and labor costs, and has drawn ire from worker representatives after publicly highlighting high sick-leave rates. During his tenure, Mercedes has shifted some production to plants in Kecskemét, Hungary, as well as China and the U.S.
