Volkswagen employee council says automaker plans to close at least 3 German plants

BERLIN – Volkswagen has informed employee representatives that it wants to close at least three plants in Germany, the head of the company’s works council said Monday.

Employee council head Daniela Cavallo told a meeting with Volkswagen workers at the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg that management also plans cuts at other plants and vowed to resist the plans, the German news agency reported. dpa. He said: “All German VW plants are affected by these plans. No one is safe.”

There was no immediate comment from the company itself.

Volkswagen said in early September that auto industry headwinds mean it cannot rule out plant closures in its home country, and must abandon a labor protection pledge in place since 1994 that would have prevented layoffs until 2029. The CEO Oliver Blume cited new competitors entering Europe. markets, the deterioration of Germany’s position as a manufacturing location and the need to “act decisively”.

European carmakers face increased competition from cheap Chinese electric cars. Volkswagen said last month that the company’s half-year results indicated it would miss its target of 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) in cost savings by 2026.

Volkswagen has about 120,000 employees in Germany, where it has 10 plants, six of them in the northern state of Lower Saxony, including Wolfsburg.

Industrial union IG Metall sharply criticized VW’s closure plans. “We hope that, instead of fantasies of cuts, Volkswagen and its management will outline sustainable concepts for the future at the negotiating table,” said regional union leader Thorsten Gröger.

Wage negotiations between Volkswagen and the union will resume on Wednesday.