Volkswagen noted it was doing away with a series of labour agreements which includes a guarantee of jobs till 2029 at six German plants, Reuters noted. This increases the chances of redundancies from the coming year, which worker representatives have said they will resist, the newswire reported.
Volkswagen is undertaking this measure as part of a cost cutting drive which has led to a showdown with workers at the company, as Europe’s top automaker grapples to compete against cheaper Asian carmakers, the newswire noted.
The company’s move follows a threat that it could put the shutters up on its German plants, a first in its 87 year history.
“We must enable Volkswagen AG to reduce costs in Germany to a competitive level in order to invest in new technologies and new products with our own resources,” the company’s Labour Director Gunnar Kilian said in a statement.
In an attempt to assuage uncertainty around labour agreements, Kilian said Volkswagen was offering to bring forward wage negotiations, the newswire noted.
The dialogues were slated to begin in October, but the works council asked for talks in the beginning of this month, Reuters reported.