Volkswagen is considering closing one of its German car factories and one of its parts production plants as outdated, according to information shared by the carmaker’s employee council with Automotive News Europe with a magazine.
Previously, the company promised not to lay off anyone against their will until 2029, but this may change now, as Volkswagen’s expenses need to be cut by billions of euros.
According to the company’s second statement issued in September, “the situation is extremely tense, the usual cost-cutting solutions would not lead to results this time.”
During the 87 years of Volkswagen’s existence, no plant has ever been closed.
Unions understandably oppose the plans. According to one interest representative body, the plans outlined by VW are irresponsible and will seriously affect not only employees, but entire regions of Germany.
The company group wants to reduce expenses at the Volkswagen brand by 10 billion euros, i.e. 4,000 billion (4 trillion) forints, by 2026. The extraordinary cutbacks are blamed on the costs of the electric transition.
According to the CEO of the VW Group, Oliver Blume, in the changed economic environment, Germany is considered less and less a competitive business location.
The company group employs almost 300,000 people in Germany alone, 50 percent of the members of the board of directors are employee representatives, and Lower Saxony, which owns 20% of the car manufacturer, usually supports the unions in controversial situations.
The position of several of Blume’s predecessors, from Bernd Pischetsrieder to Wolfgang Bernhard to Herbert Diess, was shaken by the disagreements between the company and the trade unions.
According to the trade unions, instead of closings and layoffs, the existing synergies between the plants of the company group should be used better and the operation of the concern should be simplified.
Our pictures show the Volkswagen production plant in Wolfsburg
Source: www.vezess.hu
