The IG Metall union has called for widespread labor strikes at all Volkswagen factories in Germany from Monday as the company’s workers fight back against possible layoffs and pay cuts.
Production will be “temporarily suspended” at all the German auto giant’s factories in Germany, IG Metall chief negotiator Thorsten Gröger announced, also warning of “strikes that the company cannot ignore.”
Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, is demanding across-the-board pay cuts for workers and has threatened factory closures and mass layoffs as part of a major cost-cutting program to boost worsening financial results.
With the strike, the union hopes to increase pressure on the company in the dispute over multi-billion dollar wage cuts.
“We don’t want this conflict, but we will continue it as long as the board of directors only focuses on cuts and layoffs instead of prospects,” Gröger said. “If necessary, this will be one of the toughest conflicts Volkswagen has ever seen.”
A Volkswagen corporate spokesman said the company is preparing for a possible strike, but did not provide details on what disruptions are expected.
“We want to minimize the impact of the warning strike on our customers, our partners and our industrial plants as much as possible,” the company spokesperson said. “That is why the company has already taken specific measures in advance to secure emergency supplies.”
Bitter battle ahead?
Labor leaders have vowed to wage an intense battle against such cuts. Collective negotiations are currently underway between VW and the IG Metall union, but have so far yielded little agreement.
According to the Volkswagen works council, at least three Volkswagen factories in Germany and tens of thousands of jobs are under pressure.
Volkswagen management justifies the cuts by pointing to high costs and low capacity utilization at the company’s factories in Germany. According to the works council, the Group wants to save another €5 billion.
“There is a lot of frustration among the workforce,” said VW works council leader Daniela Cavallo, who expects a large portion of VW workers to join the strikes and “let off some steam.”
A mandatory labor truce at VW, which banned strikes, expired on Saturday.
The Volkswagen spokesman said the company “respects workers’ right” to participate in short strikes and will rely on constructive dialogue with union leaders to reach a lasting and mutually acceptable agreement.
Further discussions will follow
Both sides will meet on December 9 for their next round of wage negotiations.
On Wednesday, Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, will address employees at a labor meeting in Wolfsburg. German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil is also expected to attend as a guest speaker.
The talks directly affect around 120,000 workers at Volkswagen factories in western Germany, although any agreement would also directly affect another 10,000 workers at Volkswagen factories in the eastern German state of Saxony.
Volkswagen canceled its long-standing labor security agreement with employees in September, paving the way for layoffs as early as July.
Volkswagen has never closed a factory in Germany, and it has been decades since the automaker has closed a production facility anywhere in the world.
National concerns about VW’s future
Volkswagen has long been seen as one of Germany’s greatest industrial success stories, and its rise in the aftermath of World War II is widely seen as a key part of West Germany’s post-war economic boom, known as the “economic miracle” .
Volkswagen’s problems have attracted widespread attention in Germany, where there are growing concerns about the future of its industrial production base and the continued viability of the country’s export-oriented economic model.
VW executives continue to stick to cuts
In a recent interview, Volkswagen brand boss Thomas Schäfer defended the cost-cutting course where necessary, saying he saw no way to achieve the targets without closing car and parts factories.
“We have to reduce our capabilities and adapt to the new reality,” Schäfer said.
Volkswagen had previously stated that due to weak demand in Europe, the company currently has unused capacity to produce approximately 500,000 additional vehicles annually at its factories, or approximately the total capacity of two full factories.
The Dresden and Osnabrück plants in particular are considered threatened, although Handelsblatt newspaper has reported that VW is also considering closing the Emden plant, which could reportedly save around €600 million.
However, nothing has been decided yet. VW itself has not yet provided information about specific locations.
Volkswagen workers are gathering outside the Zwickau plant, signaling their readiness to strike as the peace obligation period, which bans industrial action, ends at midnight on Saturday. Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
