Europe’s largest carmaker Volkswagen (VW) plans to close at least three plants in Germany and cut tens of thousands of jobs. It is to reduce costs and increase competitiveness. According to the DPA agency, this was said by the head of the Volkswagen works council, Daniela Cavallová. The German government has requested that jobs be saved, while Volkswagen insists that restructuring is necessary for competitiveness.
Volkswagen has been negotiating with unions for several weeks about possible closures and layoffs. According to the unions, special plans are now on the table – the plant in Osnabrück, which recently lost a promising contract from the Porsche car manufacturer, is particularly at risk.
According to the unions, tens of thousands of jobs are at risk. All the divisions have to be closed or moved abroad.
“These plans apply to all German plants of the VW brand. None of them are safe,” Cavall said without elaborating. The Volkswagen brand alone employs around 120,000 people in Germany, with around half of them working in Wolfsburg. In total, the manufacturer has ten production facilities in Germany and, including other brands, nearly three hundred thousand employees.
The government wants places to be reserved
The German government called on the concern to preserve jobs. The cabinet spokesman said that the government is in close contact with the car company and the workers’ representatives. According to him, the position of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is clear, that is that erroneous management decisions in the past must not be at the expense of workers. The aim is to preserve and secure jobs, a spokesperson told DPA.
Volkswagen reiterated the need for extensive restructuring measures to make the company competitive in the long term. “This is the only way to finance further investments from our own resources in the future,” the company said in a statement. It did not mention the planned restructuring measures.
In September, Volkswagen formally ended a labor protection agreement that prevented layoffs at its German plants. It has been in operation since 1994. Layoffs could start from the middle of 2025 At the beginning of September, the company also said that they are not ruling out plant closures and even layoffs.
Wage dispute
The company’s management and the IG Metall trade union will meet on Wednesday for the second round of talks on an internal wage agreement. Already in the first round, held in September, Volkswagen rejected IG Metall’s demands for a seven percent wage increase and instead asked for savings. The automaker has yet to provide further details. According to Cavall, Volkswagen is now asking for a ten percent wage cut and zero raises for the next two years.
VW’s flagship brand has struggled with high costs for years and, in terms of revenue, it lags far behind group companies such as Škoda, Seat and Audi.
2024-10-28 11:18:00
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