The crisis is worsening in the automotive industry. Many factories are underutilized and hundreds of thousands of employees fear for their jobs. The American manufacturer Ford has just announced that it will cut 4,000 jobs in Europe, many of them at the factory in Cologne. The mass manufacturer Stellantis is also under pressure. Opel, one of its many brands, is cutting production in Rüsselsheim, and the parent company headquartered in Amsterdam is replacing its boss. Carlos Tavares is resigning with immediate effect. Politics should have less influence. The situation in the Volkswagen Group is particularly difficult. The dispute between management and the union over savings amounting to billions is now escalating. IG Metall wants to prevent tens of thousands of employees from being laid off and entire plants from closing. With a first wave of warning strikes on Monday, she demonstrated that she is ready for battle. Its members expect it to call for indefinite strikes if necessary. But at the same time it is clear: there is no way around cuts. The capacity utilization of plants like Zwickau or Emden is too low and the costs in Germany are too high. The board of directors around CEO Oliver Blume must take countermeasures.More on the topicIt is true that management has made mistakes that the employees now have to pay for. The crisis was partly caused by the fact that, in the euphoria of previous years, entire factories were completely converted to the production of electric cars, which are now not selling. This is also why the management team has to make a contribution and give up more than just five percent of their generous basic salary. What would be even more important is that politicians finally bring themselves to reduce their influence on the company. Savings were delayed for years, also because the major shareholder Lower Saxony, together with IG Metall, resisted them. If VW had reversed course earlier, the hardship would now be less great – as would the insecurity of the employees.
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