VW workers announce second strike as cuts loom – DW – Dec 5, 2024

The union at German automaker Volkswagen (VW) said on Thursday that its workers would go on widespread strike action starting Monday next week.

Europe’s largest car maker is facing backlash over its plans to cut wages, lay off workers and close factories for the first time ever in Germany.

IG Metall said Monday’s strike would last four hours at nine different locations across the country and that a fourth round of negotiations between VW and employee representatives would take place on the same day.

Thousands of VW employees are also expected to take part in a rally in Wolfsburg, the VW headquarters, on Monday.

The planned duration of the work stoppage is twice as long as the first round last Monday, in which almost 100,000 VW factory workers took part.

The company said Thursday that management and employee representatives continue to discuss viable, long-term solutions that balance economic stability and secure employment prospects.

“Layoffs under the Christmas tree”

But the back and forth between the company and the employee representatives in public was anything but amicable.

Chief Executive Oliver Blume on Wednesday defended VW’s belt-tightening as necessary in a rapidly changing environment, saying management cannot operate “in a fantasy world.”

IG Metall negotiator Thorsten Gröger reacted to Blume’s comments on Thursday.

“It borders on mockery when Oliver Blume stands in front of the workforce and wishes them a Merry Christmas, while at the same time the VW board would like to put letters of resignation for the employees under the Christmas tree,” said Gröger.

“We will now step up our efforts on December 9th and thus increase the pressure on the company at the negotiating table,” Gröger said in a statement.

Volkswagen is suffering from high domestic manufacturing costs, a slow transition to electric vehicles and strong competition from China.

jcg/ab (AP, Reuters)