Volkswagen factory closures threaten 30,000 German jobs
The Volkswagen Group announced the closure of at least three factories in Germany and the layoff of tens of thousands of employees on Monday. The head of the works council, Daniela Cavallo, communicated this information.
9:42 PM EDT, October 28, 2024
Cavallo revealed that the job cuts affect all Volkswagen plants in Germany, which employs around 120,000 people. Half of these employees work in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony.
No factory is safe, she emphasized, as quoted by the Polish Press Agency.
The production plant in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, which recently lost an order from Porsche, is particularly at risk. Volkswagen operates ten factories in Germany: six in Lower Saxony, three in Saxony, and one in Hesse, according to the tagesschau portal.
According to Cavallo, the management also plans forced layoffs, and some departments of the factories are to be closed or moved abroad. Employees were previously informed about these plans.
Representatives of the company and the IG Metall union, which represents Volkswagen employees, will meet on Wednesday for another round of negotiations. The company demands wage cuts and no raises for the next two years, while the union is advocating for salary increases.
Volkswagen lays off, the German government appeals
In September, Volkswagen canceled a job security program that had been in effect for over 30 years. This decision means that compulsory layoffs may happen starting mid-2025. The German government has urged the group to save jobs.
A government spokesperson conveyed that for Chancellor Olaf Scholz, it is essential that "possible past managerial errors do not harm the employees." It was emphasized that the goal remains the preservation and safeguarding of jobs.
