The general works council sounded the alarm at the same time in all ten German VW plants on Monday. Plant closures, salary cuts, abolition of entire areas – the employee representatives painted a dramatic picture at their information events. “None of us can feel safe here anymore,” warned works council leader Daniela Cavallo (49). “The board is against us.”
According to the works council, the cuts that the board of directors around CEO Oliver Blume (56) and VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer (54) are planning at the Wolfsburg car manufacturer could be even more serious than previously announced. At the end of September, manager magazin had already reported that that even tougher measures are threatened at VW
. The problems on the way to saving more than 10 billion euros at VW by 2026 and achieving an operating return of 6.5 percent are too serious.
Cavallo and the works council now spoke of the VW leadership wanting to close “at least three VW plants” in Germany. Group finance chief Arno Antlitz (54) emphasized at the beginning of September that VW was short of around 500,000 cars sold in Europe and therefore “sales for around two plants”.
When asked, Volkswagen said: “We are not taking part in speculation surrounding the confidential discussions with IG Metall and the works council at collective bargaining and company level.” They are sticking to the agreed principle of “holding these discussions internally with our negotiating partners. “
The works council did not say in a statement which VW locations would be at risk, but Cavallo warned: “All German VW plants are affected by these plans. “Nobody is safe.” According to the board’s ideas, the plants that are not threatened with closure should “shrink”; management there wants to remove even more products, quantities, shifts and entire assembly lines.
In addition, the board is planning to relocate “departments and even entire areas” abroad “or outsource them completely.” “This is the plan of the largest German industrial group to start selling out in its home country of Germany,” raged Cavallo. She did not say which specific areas were involved. However, due to the “plans of the board of directors”, “tens of thousands of jobs are at stake at Volkswagen in Germany”.
According to the works council, the VW workforce is also threatened with severe salary losses. “The board wants to take away 10 percent of the monthly salary of all employees, regardless of whether they are on a tariff, tariff plus or management,” explained Cavallo. In addition, there should be no salary increases in 2025 and 2026. Collective bargaining allowances should also be eliminated, and Tariff Plus employees, who are in the hierarchy between collective bargaining employees and management, should also have their bonus linked to management canceled.
Cavallo threatens escalation
Volkswagen announced that it was “at a crucial point” in the company’s history. The situation is “serious” and the responsibility of the negotiating partners is “enormous”. It is now a matter of securing “the future of Volkswagen AG” in the long term together with the works council. Suggestions for solutions were submitted to the works council. Now it’s about “bringing the fundamental balance between economic efficiency and employment back into balance”.
We have to “find ways together that enable us to continue to invest sustainably in our products and technologies.” There is no difference in the analysis of the problems, said Daniela Cavallo on Monday, “but there is a difference in the answer to the problems.” Politicians are also required to do this, they need “a comprehensive plan on how electromobility can finally get off the ground “.
The next round of negotiations between VW management and the works council is scheduled for Wednesday. The fronts are likely to harden again after the advance by Cavallo and Co. Some at the top of the company viewed the employee representatives’ actions on Monday as scaremongering. But Cavallo also chose similar words himself: “The board puts you, colleagues, in a panic and then disappears.”
Daniela Cavallo then followed up with a threat on Monday. The board is “playing massively with the risk that everything will soon escalate here. And by that I mean that we break off the talks and do what a workforce has to do when they fear for their existence.” Wednesday, October 30th, is likely to be the next groundbreaking day for VW.