“That doesn’t actually correspond to Volkswagen’s style.” Change is necessary at VW. “But with this very offensive approach, a lot of trust was broken. I see that critically.”Lies demanded that a solution must now be found quickly in the talks between VW and the union. “Negotiations consist of having to agree on compromises at some point,” said the minister. “The findings are on the table. Now we have to find solutions quickly.” At the same time, Lies warned of a long deadlock: “We can already see how big the concerns are that concern our colleagues, even entire regions and of course us as politicians.” VW and IG Metall will meet on November 21st for their third round of negotiations.Against factory closuresLies reiterated the country’s expectation to forego factory closures. “Sites that we would give up now are sites that we need tomorrow to ensure production,” said the minister. The demand for new cars is currently weak. However, he assumes that the car market will recover again. In September, Europe’s largest car manufacturer terminated the employment protection scheme that has been in place for more than 30 years and which previously excluded redundancies for operational reasons. The closure of entire plants is no longer ruled out. In the current collective bargaining round with IG Metall, VW is also demanding a flat-rate wage cut of ten percent. More on the topic Of the ten German VW plants, six are in Lower Saxony, including the main plant in Wolfsburg with more than 60,000 employees. The state of Lower Saxony is the largest with 20 percent Voting rights in VW and has a blocking minority against important decisions. Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) and his deputy Julia Willie Hamburg (Greens) sit on the state’s supervisory board. Lies was a member of the VW control committee during his first term as Minister of Economic Affairs from 2013 to 2017.
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