The light-flooded event hall of the Volkswagen factory in Dresden forms the heart of the location. All around, car bodies drive over a production line, the lower levels of the vehicle tower can be seen – a fully automated high bay, similar to the famous car towers in Wolfsburg, in which new cars are parked and prepared for delivery. VW has been producing vehicles in Dresden and handing them over to customers for almost a quarter of a century. Group patriarch Ferdinand Piëch and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) once personally inaugurated the “Gläserne Manufaktur”. But the luxury Phaeton model for which the factory was designed never caught on, and the factory was actually too small for the mass-produced models that were later built there. On Thursday, the management presented to the 230 employees in the middle of the bright hall how production should end and how research should take place in the future. VW wants to spread a spirit of optimism – but at the same time it is noticeable: an era is ending here. Decision “not made lightly” The decision not to build any more cars in Dresden in the future was “not made easy,” said Wolfsburg VW manager Thomas Schäfer at a works meeting at the site this morning. From an economic point of view, however, the decision was “absolutely necessary”, he added, meaning: In the current tense financial situation, the group can no longer afford to continue operating plants that are not actually needed. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) described the upheavals in Dresden as a “breaking point”, but at the same time emphasized that the basis for something new was now being laid. The employees, on the other hand, seem to be more or less resigned to their fate. Actually, VW would have preferred to close the location completely. In this respect, the path now planned with research cooperation, a museum and delivery of cars might not be the worst solution. But the discontent is still palpable. The alliance with the Technical University announced on Thursday is just a “letter of intent”, a declaration of intent that must be brought to life, IG Metall emphasized on Thursday. “No financial points have yet been clarified” for the planned cooperation and there is still uncertainty that is making many employees “angry”. The union, that much is clear, wants to keep the pressure up until all of the outstanding points from their point of view have been clarified. Central technology fields now in focusAs VW announced after the non-public works meeting, after a long struggle there is a concept for the future use of the buildings and facilities. Together with the Free State of Saxony and the TU Dresden, the company wants to build an “innovation campus for central technology fields” there from next year, including artificial intelligence, robotics, microelectronics and chip design. Over the next seven years, 50 million euros will be invested in research, technology development and four new endowed professorships, it is said. In addition, the factory will remain as a delivery location and “Volkswagen experience world”. The TU Dresden is pleased with the new perspectives and has announced that it will redesign the space based on the model of “Station F” in Paris, a famous start-up center for young companies that was built there in a former goods handling hall. Cars will no longer be built in Dresden in the future; at most, a small show production will remain in which a single vehicle is built behind the glass to show visitors what work in the car industry is like. At its peak, 550 employees worked at the location, but now there are fewer than half. The company said on Thursday that it was still looking for jobs for around 60 employees. The end of production in Dresden is part of a savings package that IG Metall and VW management around CEO Oliver Blume agreed to last year after a tough power struggle. 35,000 jobs will be lost at locations in Lower Saxony, Hesse and Saxony by 2030 and the capacity of the plants will be reduced. There were even attempts within the group to close down an entire large plant, such as Emden or Zwickau. But in the end the compromise was reached, according to which all locations had to reduce costs, but none closed completely. The group emphasizes that it has found a good solution. But there is concern in the industry that the package was too small and that a debate about closing Zwickau or Emden will flare up again in a few years at the latest. More on the topic Works council boss Daniela Cavallo emphasized on Thursday in Dresden that no one would be forced to leave the company. Any job cuts must be carried out in a socially acceptable manner through partial retirement or termination agreements. In Saxony, job security also applies until 2030. Employees in Dresden could also move to Zwickau, Chemnitz or other locations. Anyone who goes to Wolfsburg voluntarily could even receive a transfer bonus of 30,000 euros. Cavallo, for her part, is under pressure; the works council elections are coming up next year. And the mood among the workforce is anything but good, as a survey of the workforce published this week shows. Everything is moving quickly in Dresden. The last car is scheduled to roll off the production line the week after next, an ID.3, which has been produced here in small numbers for several years. The cooperation with the university will begin next year.
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