07 Reunification

	Reunification	Content

	The turning point in Jena came on November 4, 1989. 40,000 demonstrators gathered at the “Platz der Kosmonauten” (Cosmonaut Square). Wolfgang Biermann stood on the podium with other comrades. He was the highest ranking functionary, and the opposition’s attacks were directed at him. He headed defiantly towards the microphone. But no one wanted to listen to him anymore. As he pleadingly and deliberately closed his statement with: “I say this to you and stand here as a member of the Central Committee and General Director of Zeiss,” he was shouted down by the many thousands of Zeiss employees. No one felt pity. Too many employees had been humiliated over the years. A camera team from the Westdeutschen Rundfunk (West German Broadcasting) filmed segments of the two-and-a-half-hour discussion. “You can feel an air of emotionally charged defiance here in Jena, as well as all over the DDR,” explained one of the journalists. “You can only wish them success.”	About the book The author Introduction Cooperation Confrontation Coexistence Reunification complete article to download (pdf-document, 13 pages, 426 kB) purchase the book (www.amazon.de)

Biebelrieder Declaration 1990; Adolphs, Gattnar, Skoludek, Altmann enlarge	Dr. Horst Skoludek was CEO in Oberkochen at the time. He was determined to use the opportunities that were now there to reunite both Zeiss operations. On Feb. 2, 1990, he went to Jena along with his attorney and press speaker. He wanted to form his own personal opinion on the condition of the combine. Both sides entered negotiations with caution and confidence. Zeiss West and East, as well as Schott West and East signed the “Biebelrieder Declaration” on May 29, 1990. Both parties agreed to merge under a single Carl Zeiss Foundation following a transitional period. Soon there was no more talk of a transition period.

The German Mark	On July 1, 1990, the DDR introduced the German Mark (DM) as a means of payment. The state-owned company was simultaneously converted into an incorporated enterprise. A new GmbH (LLC) emerged from the ashes of the Jena combine with 30,000 employees. Together with a consulting firm, it was tasked by the Trust with analyzing the competitiveness of the company in a market economy. Boston Consulting soon mentioned a figure of 10,200 employees at most that could be retained from the original 30,000; and that, only with significant outside support. The works council and union called for a protest rally on Feb. 13, 1991. Zeiss employees in Jena trusted no one: not the management at Jenoptik, who rose up during the DDR; not the trust agency, not CDU Minister President Josef Duchac, and also not those in Oberkochen. During his speech at the Platz der Kosmonauten, the chairman of the works council said: “Have the Zeiss employees in Oberkochen forgotten that they received a lot of help from Jena when they were just getting started?” Zeiss Oberkochen was shocked. A special session of the Board of Management declared: Carl Zeiss (Oberkochen) set everything into motion to help Jena, has a model for future cooperation and now has to listen to insults from all sides.

President and CEO Dr. Horst Skoludek enlarge	The final decision was made at the trust agency in Berlin on June 11, 1991. President and CEO in Oberkochen Dr. Horst Skoludek, declared that Zeiss (West) would assume responsibility for the core business of optics and 2,800 employees. The trust agency allotted DM587 million for capital resources and compensation. These subsidies proved to be too low.

President and CEO Prof. Dr. h.c. Lothar Späth enlarge	On June 11, 1991, they also decided that there would be a 2nd industrial complex with 7,400 employees alongside, and independent, of Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH – the Jenoptik GmbH (later Jenoptik AG). Lothar Spaeth assumed responsibility for the new enterprise. Having resigned from his post as Minister President of Baden-Wuerttemberg, he had now found a new challenge.

Foundation Commissioner Dr. Hermann Franz enlarge	During 1994, Carl Zeiss Oberkochen (and also its subsidiary in Jena) found itself in a crisis. Foundation Commissioner Dr. Hermann Franz called a board meeting on October 20th. This committee was equivalent to a supervisory board in an AG. Members of the various boards arrived at the Hotel Fontana in Stuttgart-Vaihingen with a sense of foreboding. What followed was more than any of them had expected. Dr. Franz declared a state of emergency: “Zeiss is in need of restructuring.” No single entity could be blamed for the difficult position. The economical basis and the management capacity were not sufficient enough to acquire Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH. Because of historical reasons, it was impossible to reject the merger. To allow for a new beginning, President and CEO, Prof. Jobst Herrmann, requested to be relieved of his duties.

President and CEO Prof. Jobst Herrmann enlarge	The next day he informed Minister President Erwin Teufel and the media. After already having to reduce the number of employees at Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH to 2,050, a further reduction to 1,450 was now unavoidable. Operations in the west could also not be spared. The number of employees worldwide was reduced from 15,900 to 12,900. “What is happening at Zeiss is not only a tragedy for 3,000 employees, but also an especially sorrowful chapter in the German-German history,” lamented the southwestern media.

President and CEO Dr. Peter Grassmann enlarge	An old Russian saying says that “it is always coldest just after sunrise.” Foundation Commissioner Dr. Franz informed the company board on Nov. 8, 1994, that he had found their savior. “Dr. Grassmann will take over as head of Zeiss.” The appointment of the “energetic manager” was overwhelmingly endorsed by both the government and the media. Dr. Peter Grassmann, a physicist, had previously been a member of the board for Siemens Medical Technology. As a result, the newspapers uniformly declared: “A medicine man to the rescue.”

The 6 pillar model enlarge	The new speaker of the board was able to implement his strategy. It stated: focus on our core business. With 6 pillars, the six areas in the company, Zeiss now had a defined structure. Twenty business fields that had no chance of yielding a profit, or did not belong to the core business, were sold off, turned into joint ventures, or terminated. As Grassmann said, of course that can’t “be accomplished without a lot of pain.” Essential to the success of the restructuring, was the boom in the microelectronic industry. With Dutch partner ASML (a spin-off of Philips Eindhoven), Zeiss built the “Wafer-Stepper” which aids in manufacturing computer chips.

Chancellor Helmut Kohl, commemorative speech to the 150 year anniversary of Carl Zeiss enlarge	Carl Zeiss celebrated its 150 year anniversary on Nov. 19, 1996 in Jena. In his commemorative speech, Chancellor Helmut Kohl stated: “Carl Zeiss represents all the problems, but also the opportunities associated with German reunification.” In this case, it took significantly longer than the “three, four, or five years at the most” that he predicted until the “blooming landscape” would become reality.


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