(Bloomberg) -- Mercedes-Benz Group AG abruptly replaced a key US executive as the carmaker faces an aggressive campaign by the United Auto Workers to unionize a plant in Alabama.

Federico Kochlowski, a vice president with the company in the US, was named chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz US International Inc., according to audio of an employee meeting reviewed by Bloomberg. He replaces Michael Göbel, who will take on a new role related to North American production. The change is effective immediately, the company told employees.

Mercedes confirmed the news in a statement Tuesday that didn’t detail the reason for the change.

The move comes amid a heated contest by the UAW to organize Mercedes workers in Alabama. Employees there are slated to vote in two weeks on joining the union, a pivotal test of the recently reenergized organization’s ability to grow after securing record contract deals with Detroit’s big automakers last fall. Companies that are seeking to dissuade employees from unionizing often replace members of management as a signal to workers that their concerns are being heard.

The union scored a landmark victory in a unionization vote this month at a 4,300-employee Volkswagen AG plant in Tennessee. But management at Mercedes has shown more resistance to the UAW, including by holding frequent mandatory anti-union meetings, according to employees.

The union has filed complaints with governments in the US and Germany accusing Mercedes of illegal tactics including the retaliatory firing of a union supporter. Mercedes has denied wrongdoing.

Göbel, who oversees production in North America, wrote a letter to employees in January saying “collective bargaining is an uncertain process with no time limit, and there is no guarantee you will be satisfied with the outcome.” The next month, he held a meeting with the plant’s workforce and suggested that a union would mean strikes, costly dues and obstacles to conflict resolution.

The UAW is aiming to organize around 150,000 employees total at over a dozen firms, including BMW, Toyota, and Tesla Inc.

--With assistance from Ed Ludlow.

(Updates with context starting in second paragraph)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.