In view of the tense situation, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck is inviting the German automotive industry to a summit. The Green politician has invited people to an exchange about the current situation on Monday, said a spokeswoman for the ministry. The “Bild” newspaper had previously reported on it. In addition to the industry association VDA and the IG Metall union, the largest automobile manufacturers and suppliers are taking part. Further details about the meeting were initially not known. The German auto industry is struggling with weak sales figures, especially for electric cars. Their sales have recently fallen significantly. As the Ifo Institute found in a survey, the mood among manufacturers is in the basement. In terms of sales, car manufacturers are by far the most important industrial sector in Germany. Plant closures at VW are no longer ruled out Drastic cuts could be imminent, particularly at Germany’s largest car manufacturer Volkswagen. At the beginning of September, management announced that it would no longer rule out plant closures and redundancies for operational reasons as part of the savings program at the core VW brand. According to a current report by “Manager Magazin”, the ailing group could even cut up to 30,000 jobs in Germany in the medium term. The company did not confirm the figure. And the general works council explained: “This number has no basis and is simply nonsense.” Spokesperson: VW has to save money. According to the magazine’s information, finance chief Arno Antlitz wants to cut funding to 160 billion euros for investments in the next five years. VW recently budgeted 170 billion euros for medium-term planning from 2025 to 2029. The state of Lower Saxony is VW’s second largest shareholder with 20 percent of the voting rights. The pressure is obviously so great that far-reaching cuts to employees are on the table. According to “Manager Magazin”, the number of jobs in Germany is expected to fall by 30,000 from 130,000 in the medium term, according to hardliners’ idea. CEO Oliver Blume also considered this to be realistic in the long term in a small circle. A spokeswoman for Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg said: “One thing is clear: Volkswagen has to reduce its costs at its German locations.” This is the only way the brand can earn enough money for future investments. “How we achieve this goal together with employee representatives is part of the upcoming discussions,” she said. Negotiations between VW and IG Metall will begin on September 25th.More on the subjectIG Metall negotiator at Volkswagen, Thorsten Gröger, says: “If Volkswagen wants to lay the ax on the workforce, the employees will give the appropriate answer.”Suppliers too cut jobsThe crisis is now also affecting supplier companies. ZF, one of the largest in Germany, announced at the end of July that it would cut up to 14,000 jobs in Germany over the next four years. To this end, the company is planning to establish several location networks with leaner structures. Around 54,000 people nationwide currently work at ZF. On average, the German plants of Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes & Co. were only slightly more than two-thirds full last year. This emerges from an evaluation by the data specialist Marklines for the German Press Agency. The first car manufacturers are drawing conclusions. Ford had already announced in 2022 that it would close the Saarlouis plant at the end of 2025. At Audi, Brussels is now on the brink. The same fate could threaten the Transparent Factory in Dresden, where VW is now openly considering reusing it without vehicle production.
Go to Source