Operations at ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. have resumed under a partial strike arrangement, with employees returning to work on a 50% work-from-home and 50% office basis. Despite the partial return, negotiations remain ongoing and tensions persist over labor terms linked to the company’s planned ownership change.
The agreement allows business operations and ship movements to continue without disruption, while talks continue between the union, ZIM management, and representatives of the prospective buyers, Hapag-Lloyd AG and the FIMI investment fund.
The strike began Thursday, involving around 900 unionized employees, and had initially led to a near-complete shutdown of ZIM’s operations in Israel, including cargo handling and ship unloading.
At the center of the dispute are the terms of a new collective agreement tied to the proposed $4.2 billion acquisition of ZIM by Hapag-Lloyd and FIMI. The union claims the buyers are seeking early retirement terms that conflict with existing agreements, while the company states that a preliminary understanding had already been reached.
The union had previously declared a labor dispute earlier in the year, before the sale agreement was finalized, enabling strike action at any time.
ZIM currently operates without a controlling shareholder. The planned transaction would transfer full ownership to Hapag-Lloyd and FIMI, followed by restructuring and eventual delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, where ZIM has been listed since its 2021 IPO.
Negotiations are expected to continue in the coming days as all parties attempt to stabilize operations and resolve outstanding labor issues tied to the takeover.
