Workers at ZIM Integrated Shipping Services have escalated strike action in Israel in response to the planned takeover by Hapag-Lloyd AG, raising questions about job security and the structure of the combined business.
About 800 of ZIM’s roughly 1,000 unionised employees walked off the job on 15 February at the company’s headquarters in Haifa following news of the proposed $4.2 billion acquisition by Hapag-Lloyd.
Reuters reported that on 17 February, the workforce “stopped all work” at the site as part of a full strike aimed at securing firmer commitments on jobs and conditions post-acquisition.
Union representative Ziva Lainer Schkolnik described the stoppage in stark terms: “Since this morning, we are not allowing any kind of activity,” she told Reuters, adding that vessels docked at the ports of Ashdod and Haifa “will not be unloaded” until management enters meaningful dialogue on employee concerns.
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Under the terms agreed by ZIM and Hapag-Lloyd, a portion of ZIM’s business comprising 16 vessels will be carved out and sold to Israel-based private equity firm FIMI Opportunity Fund as a separate entity branded “New ZIM” to maintain direct shipping connections for the country.
This unit is expected to employ about 120 staff, a figure the union says could leave nearly 900 current employees without roles, despite many having tenure protections.
ZIM declined to comment on the strike. Hapag-Lloyd has issued official statements saying that all management and head office staff “will receive job security after closing, which should be negotiated in good faith with the labour representatives” and reaffirming that “Israel will also longer term be a strong location for the combined business of ZIM and Hapag-Lloyd”.
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The dispute has led to suspended unloading and loading operations at key Israeli port gateways, with workers’ representatives arguing that the future viability of the smaller New ZIM entity and the lack of binding employment guarantees risk undermining both industrial stability and strategic maritime connectivity.
The takeover itself remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, including consent by the Israeli government, which holds a “golden share” in ZIM that gives it strategic veto rights.
