Automotive News Europe — 2024-12-02
Automotive Industry
Workers at nine Volkswagen Group car and component plants across Germany were going on strike for several hours on Monday, 2 December 2024, bringing assembly lines to a halt as labor and management clash over the future of the carmaker’s German operations.
Thousands of workers were expected to gather at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg. Demonstrations were also expected at the Hanover plant, which employs around 14,000 people, and other component and auto plants including Emden, Salzgitter, and Brunswick.
VW has demanded a 10% wage cut from workers, arguing it needs to slash costs and boost profit to defend market share in the face of cheap competition from China and a drop in European car demand.
Management has also said the company needs to shutter three German factories and lay off thousands of workers to boost the automaker’s competitiveness.
The industrial action could escalate into 24-hour or unlimited strikes if a deal is not reached in the next round of wage negotiations.
“How long and how intensive this confrontation needs to be is Volkswagen’s responsibility at the negotiating table,” Thorsten Groeger, who is leading the talks for IG Metall, said on 1 December 2024.
IG Metall called on employees of the plants run by subsidiary Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH, which include VW’s EV-only plant Zwickau, to strike on 2 and 3 December 2024.
The warning strikes come after VW rejected IG Metall’s proposals for cost savings to avoid layoffs and factory closures. The union had proposed €1.5 bn ($1.6 bn) in savings, including reduced working hours and forgoing bonuses.
VW said the union’s proposals would have positive effects in the short term but would not lead to any sustainable financial relief for the automaker in the coming years.
A VW source said the union’s proposals were intended to buy time the company does not have amid increasing pressure from high costs and Chinese competition.
Negotiations will continue on 9 December 2024 over a new labor agreement, with unions vowing to resist any proposals that do not provide a long-term plan for every VW plant.
A VW spokesperson said the automaker had taken steps to minimize the strike’s impact and ensure a basic level of supplies to customers.
VW’s corporate structure gives workers a strong voice in key decisions, making it difficult for management to unilaterally push through painful cost cuts. Employee representatives occupy half of the company’s supervisory board seats, while VW’s home state of Lower Saxony holds an additional two seats.
Executives have said they do not expect the demand for cars in Europe seen before the pandemic to return, leaving the automaker with excess and expensive production capacity.