Infinera is a U.S. publicly traded company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that manufactures optical transmission systems for long distances over fiber optic networks. In October 2018, Infinera acquired its competitor Coriant (formerly Siemens and Nokia Siemens Networks), which has two sites in Munich and Berlin.

In January 2019, Infinera announced the closure of its production site in Berlin with its approximately 400 employees. Despite the solidarity and support of the affected employees (www.openpetition.de/petition/online/infinera-mit-seinen-400-industriearbeitsplaetzen-am-standort-berlin-erhalten), the Berlin site could unfortunately not be saved; however, the conditions for those affected were considerably improved.

At the beginning of July 2019, Infinera is now rolling out the second wave of layoffs, this time to the research and development site in Munich, to make 3/4 of the workforce unemployed and leave the remaining quarter to an uncertain future. At the time of the acquisition of Coriant, Infinera knew exactly how many people were working in which functions at the two sites in Munich and Berlin. If the plans of Infinera's management were to be implemented, it would have succeeded in reducing the number of colleagues in Germany from around 640 to 60 by 2019, thereby laying off over 90% of the workforce.

After Infinera has been holding out the employees in Munich since the beginning of the year, negotiations with the works council are now to be conducted and concluded under great time pressure during the holiday period between the beginning of July and September following the announcement. The company is threatening to close the site and withdraw a social plan budget that has not even been specified before negotiations begin. It is easy to see through the attempt to pass the buck to the works council if it does not play along, but it is no less audacious.

We, the undersigned, condemn the Infinera management's decision to dismiss 163 employees or all 224 employees at the Munich site. We call on the Infinera management to withdraw the threats and find a solution with the works council - for the benefit of all those affected by the planned measure.

All colleagues are called upon to declare their solidarity and to protest. Only together can we oppose the management and its plan. That is why we support our friends, our colleagues at Infinera, in their fight to stay in Munich.

Many thanks for your support, Michael Rust, Chairman of the Works Council of Coriant - Part of Infinera, Munich