Workers at Volkswagen factories across Germany walked off the job in waves on Monday due to temporary work stoppages, marking the start of nationwide strikes against the German auto giant.
About 66,000 VW employees – more than half of VW’s factory workforce in Germany – joined the strikes, according to the IG Metall union. The demonstrations started on Monday morning with a two-hour work stoppage at the VW factory in the eastern German city of Zwickau.
At VW’s flagship factory in Wolfsburg, thousands of workers marched through production lines chanting: “Ready to strike! National!” before gathering in front of the VW management office building at the automaker’s sprawling headquarters.
The union announced the strikes in protest against plans by VW management to cut billions of dollars in costs. Mass layoffs, factory closures and across-the-board pay cuts for VW workers are reportedly all on the table.
Volkswagen initially did not provide information about possible production interruptions as a result of the strike. A spokesperson said last weekend that the company has made preparations to minimize the impact.
Leadership at Europe’s largest carmaker has said major cost cuts are needed to boost deteriorating financial results and safeguard the company’s future against fierce international competition.
Management flatly rejected an earlier labor offer to provide more flexibility over the next two years to reduce working hours and forego salary increases as insufficient.
“This is just a warning!”
According to the union, Monday’s wave of strikes is expected to involve two hours of work stoppages in each shift across the country. The strikes are intended to end on Tuesday morning at the end of the night shift.
Thousands of VW workers also gathered outside the VW factory gates in Zwickau and the northwestern German city of Emden. In Braunschweig, more than 1,000 VW employees marched through the city.
“We will compete fiercely for every job!” Dirk Schulze, the leader of IG Metall in East Germany, declared himself at the workers’ meeting in Zwickau.
In Emden, IG Metall regional leader Daniel Friedrich warned Volkswagen management to backtrack on cost-cutting plans: “Otherwise it won’t just be the tree that burns at Christmas, otherwise every single plant will burn.”
All but one of Volkswagen’s ten factories in Germany were affected by the strikes.
The strike across Germany is hurting Volkswagen, IG Metall chief negotiator Thorsten Gröger said in Wolfsburg.
“But this is just a warning!” Gröger added. “Anyone who ignores the workforce is playing with fire – and we know how to turn sparks into flames!”
The head of the VW works council, Daniela Cavallo, said the next round of collective bargaining talks with VW management on December 9 will determine the course of future labor actions.
“If necessary, we will take industrial action that suits Volkswagen,” she said.
A mandatory labor truce at VW, which banned strikes, expired this weekend, paving the way for industrial action.
The talks directly affect around 120,000 workers at Volkswagen factories in West Germany. Any deal would also directly affect another 10,000 employees working at Volkswagen factories in the eastern German state of Saxony.
Auto sector expert Frank Schwope, who lectures on industrial economics in Hanover, said the two-hour strike should be bearable for VW, but the company would face more serious risks if labor struggles worsen.
“A prolonged, escalating labor dispute would certainly harm Volkswagen and could also damage its image among the population and in politics,” Schwope said.
High stakes at VW
Volkswagen workers are demanding pay increases and job protection in ongoing collective bargaining, including the retention of all company locations in Germany, while management has pushed workers to accept an across-the-board 10% pay cut instead.
According to Volkswagen’s works council, management has also discussed closing three of the automaker’s factories in Germany, an unprecedented move for the longtime German manufacturing icon that would cost tens of thousands of jobs.
Weak demand, increased competition and a tougher Chinese market have all contributed to Volkswagen’s woes.
The automaker has previously stated that due to declining sales 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.
VW boss Thomas Schäfer recently described factory closures as likely inevitable if the company hopes to remain competitive.
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.
In particular, the performance of VW’s core brand has lagged behind other brands in the VW Group portfolio, with executives also citing difficulties in the transition to electric vehicles.
In the first nine months of the year, the VW Group’s profits plummeted, although the company is still far from being in the red. From January to September, VW made a profit after tax of 1.58 billion euros.
However, executives have argued that higher profit margins are needed at the Volkswagen brand to finance the major investments needed in the coming years to transition to electric vehicles and launch new models.
Volkswagen workers take part in a warning strike at the Zwickau plant. German car giant Volkswagen is preparing for widespread strikes on December 2, while the IG Metall union is launching a major protest against proposed pay cuts and possible layoffs and factory closures. Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
Volkswagen workers stand at a strike meeting on the grounds of the VW main plant in Wolfsburg. IG Metall calls for warning strikes at several Volkswagen factories in Germany due to pay cuts and layoffs. Julian Stratenschulte/dpa Pool/dpa
