Germany’s largest industrial union, IG Metall, has mobilised protests at several Volkswagen Group locations against plans to close four plants and cut up to 100,000 jobs. The demonstrations, held in Stuttgart and Ingolstadt, signal growing resistance to the carmaker’s sweeping cost-cutting programme.
The protests are a direct response to management’s proposal to shutter factories, drastically reduce the workforce, and scale back social benefits. VW’s board argues that drastic action is needed to restore the group’s competitiveness, particularly in its home market where labour costs are among the highest in the world. However, union leaders are pushing back, insisting that workers have already made significant sacrifices in earlier rounds of restructuring.
Speaking at a meeting of VW’s supervisory board, IG Metall chairwoman Christine Benner delivered a blunt message to executives. – We are sending a clear signal to the management – we will not accept these games, the employees have already contributed their share to the savings programme – she said.
Union leaders vow to fight
The protests, which involved thousands of workers, are part of a coordinated campaign to pressure the supervisory board. The board’s composition is a key obstacle for VW’s management: it includes strong union representation as well as delegates from the state of Lower Saxony, which owns a significant stake in the company and opposes plant closures. Lower Saxony’s resistance means any closure plan would require political as well as corporate approval.
Union officials have called on the government to step in and protect jobs, arguing that the company’s problems stem from strategic mismanagement rather than worker productivity. They point to VW’s struggles in China and the slow transition to electric vehicles as evidence that the board should focus on product strategy, not workforce reductions.
Management faces resistance
In a letter to employees, VW CEO Olivier Blume warned that the company cannot afford to delay cost-cutting measures any longer. – We are calling for immediate actions aimed at improving competitiveness, especially in German plants where labour costs are very high – he wrote. Blume’s tone reflects the urgency felt by top management, as VW’s market share continues to erode in key regions.
Industry experts note that postponing decisions could cost the group even more in the long run. With Chinese automakers aggressively expanding into Europe and Tesla maintaining its edge in EV production, VW’s window for restructuring is narrowing. The supervisory board is expected to hold further talks in the coming weeks, but a compromise remains elusive.
The standoff between labour and management at VW is emblematic of broader tensions in German industry, where high energy costs, regulatory pressure, and global competition are forcing once-dominant companies to rethink their business models. For now, the unions are putting up a fight, but with the company bleeding market share, their position looks increasingly fragile.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Sergey Kohl / Shutterstock
