{"id":37818,"date":"2024-10-28T11:25:23","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T15:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/automaker-plans-to-close-at-least-3-german-plants-and-cut-thousands-of-jobs\/28\/10\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-10-28T11:25:23","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T15:25:23","slug":"automaker-plans-to-close-at-least-3-german-plants-and-cut-thousands-of-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/automaker-plans-to-close-at-least-3-german-plants-and-cut-thousands-of-jobs\/28\/10\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Automaker plans to close \u2018at least\u2019 3 German plants and cut thousands of jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Volkswagen plans to close \u201cat least\u201d three factories in Germany, lay off tens of thousands of staff and downsize remaining plants in the country, the company\u2019s employee group said Monday.<\/p>\n

The domestic factory closures would be the first<\/a> in Volkswagen\u2019s 87-year history, and they lay bare the challenges facing Germany\u2019s largest manufacturer. The plans are already facing pushback from labor unions in the country, where Volkswagen employs 295,000 people, setting the stage for possible strikes in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen has been locked in negotiations with unions for weeks over its plans to cut costs and restructure business operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf VW confirms its dystopian path on Wednesday, the board must expect the corresponding consequences on our part,\u201d Thorsten Groeger, lead negotiator for one of Germany\u2019s most powerful unions, IG Metall said in a statement Monday.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen\u2019s works council, which represents employees and holds half the seats on the company\u2019s board, said that the planned cuts \u2014 which include slashing all workers\u2019 pay by 10% \u2014 were deeper than expected and \u201cof historic dimensions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll German VW plants are affected by this. None of them are safe,\u201d works council chairperson Daniela Cavallo added in a statement. She said that Volkswagen planned to move some production abroad or outsource it to other companies and warned workers against dismissing its proposals as simply a negotiating tactic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the plan of Germany\u2019s largest industrial group to start the sell-off in its home country,\u201d Cavallo noted.<\/p>\n

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A Volkswagen employee holds a placard reading “Hands off the collective agreement” during a VW works council event in Zwickau, eastern Germany on October 28, 2024. – Jens Schlueter\/AFP\/Getty Images <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Volkswagen, one of the world\u2019s biggest carmakers, has warned that it needs a radical overhaul as the group faces growing competition in China and slowing sales elsewhere. According to executives, the automaker is selling 500,000 fewer cars in Europe a year compared with pre-pandemic levels, the equivalent of around two car plants.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen reiterated these sentiments in a statement Monday. \u201cThe fact is: the situation is serious,\u201d human resources board member Gunnar Kilian said. \u201cWithout comprehensive measures to regain competitiveness, we will not be able to afford essential future investments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas Schaefer, the CEO of Volkswagen passenger cars, added that its German factories were not productive enough and that plant costs were as much as 50% above what the company had budgeted for, making individual plants twice as expensive as the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, we at Volkswagen still handle many tasks internally that the competition has already outsourced more cost-effectively,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Labor costs were also \u201csignificantly too high,\u201d Volkswagen said, adding that it would make \u201cconcrete proposals\u201d for reducing these when it resumes talks with labor unions on Wednesday.<\/p>\n