Mercedes C-Class Production Comes to U.S.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Mercedes-Benz will transfer much of the C-Class lineup's production to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and transfer the rest from Sindelfingen to Bremen, Germany, starting with the launch of the next-generation models in 2014. Despite the change, the Daimler AG board of management and general labor council agreed on a plan that will preserve jobs at its massive main plant in Sindelfingen. No layoffs at the facility, which employs about 37,000 workers, should be needed before 2020, Daimler announced.

SL production will move to Sindelfingen from Bremen to help offset the move of the C-Class, creating some 2,000 new jobs there. The company said the changes will "improve competitiveness."

Production of the next-generation E-Class and S-Class cars will stay in Sindelfingen, and the board has committed to keeping the facility up to date through continuous improvement. Test vehicle and hybrid-drive production are among the activities Daimler said it would concentrate on at Sindelfingen.

The automaker had previously announced it would build a new plant to produce compact cars in Hungary. Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche said the strategy has "set the course for the future of our key models" and called it "the best way to protect jobs in Germany over the long term."

Inside Line says: Automaker makes a long-term promise to German workers that should take some of the sting out of the transfer of production to the U.S. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent