Ex-employee Smashes More Than 50 Mercedes With Hijacked Bulldozer. However, his prime intentions were to destroy the robotic assembly line.
In Northern Spain, a Mercedes-Benz factory employee protested against the imminent threat of mass layoffs, following which he was fired. This did not deter the 38-year old worker who was hell-bent on taking revenge.
On the night of 30th December 2020, the ex-employee hijacked a Caterpillar heavy bulldozer, drove 21 kilometers to reach the factory, barged through the front gates, and destroyed more than fifty cars.
The destroyed cars included Mercedes EQV, V-Class, and Vito commercial vans. The total value of the loss is calculated at approximately 2.5 million dollars, equivalent to two million Euros.
In addition to the Mercedes cars that have been damaged, the man is also responsible for destroying a parked car, two industrial shovels, other construction material, and significantly damaged public roads.
All this damage was not enough for the enraged employee. After this destruction, he was moving on to the production line. This is the final stage, where robots mainly complete fewer humans work and the tasks, and layoffs were likely. However, he was fortunately stopped by the security guards.
If he had been successful, it was likely that the factory would have shut down for weeks. There were no injuries to the small team working at that time.
The ex-employee is now arrested and faces multiple charges, including theft, destruction of private and public property. Currently, he is in a local jail, where he awaits his court date. However, there hasn’t been a response from Mercedes on this incident as yet.
As the world moves into the fourth stage of the industrial revolution, automakers such as Tesla and Mercedes are likely to benefit a lot as they move to automated vehicle production. However, this will be on the cost of employees who will be subsequently laid off. Let us wait and see what the future holds as this major shift in the economy takes place.
