The automobile company VolkswagenFrom the point of view of the works council chairman Bernd Osterloh (63), he is on the right track against the electric car pioneer Teslato claim. VW has already concluded a future pact. This is sufficient for the structural change, he told the newspaper “Welt am Sonntag”. At the moment there could be no question of less work. The Group produced the Golf in June and July at the previous year’s level, and extra shifts would be run. “The four-day week is not an issue for VW,” said Osterloh.
“We are in the middle of the electrification of our fleet,” said Osterloh. He sees good chances that VW can overtake the US manufacturer Tesla in terms of quantities and software. “If Tesla builds three factories in which you can build between 300,000 and 500,000 cars, then we’re talking about a number between 900,000 and 1.5 million,” said the works council chairman. “We want to achieve that in 2023, probably sooner.”
VW has a great advantage with the modular electrical construction kit. “We can build any vehicle of any brand on it.” Tesla is currently building an electric car factory in Grünheide near Berlin. From summer 2021, around 500,000 e-cars are expected to roll off the assembly line there. The complete environmental approval by Brandenburg is still pending.
According to Osterloh, electric cars could also be built at the parent plant in Wolfsburg. “There is of course the possibility of the Wolfsburg location Electric cars retrofitting, “he said.” If the number of combustion engines goes down sharply, then we as the works council will demand that we also manufacture a battery-powered vehicle here. “
IG Metall recently called for a four-day week for the entire automotive industry. This means that industrial jobs can be kept instead of being written off, said the first chairman of the union, Jörg Hofmann (64). “A four-day week with wage compensation, as demanded by IG Metall, is neither expedient nor economically viable in view of the situation in the automotive industry,” said Daimler HR director Wilfried Porth (61).