Their jobs are on the line

Thousands of frustrated VW employees on warning strike

Thousands of employees at the VW plant in Hanover make their displeasure known.

(Bild: AFP/Ronny Hartmann)

Widespread warning strikes at Volkswagen! On Monday, more than 10,000 employees at almost all German sites temporarily stopped work due to the Group's multi-billion euro cost-cutting plans.

Thousands marched through the main plant in Wolfsburg and gathered for a rally directly in front of the Board of Management building. "Ready to strike! Nationwide!" they chanted. With the warning strike, the union wants to bring production to a temporary standstill in nine of the ten German VW plants.

Plant closures and redundancies are on the cards
With the strike, IG Metall is defending itself against multi-billion euro cuts at Europe's largest car manufacturer. VW is demanding a ten percent pay cut from employees due to the Group's difficult situation. Plant closures and compulsory redundancies are also on the cards. IG Metall wants to prevent this and is instead demanding a future for all locations - without plant closures and compulsory redundancies. After three unsuccessful rounds of collective bargaining, both sides will meet for the next negotiations on December 9.

In Zwickau and Emden, employees gathered for rallies in front of the factory gates on Monday, while in Braunschweig more than 1000 employees marched through the city in a demonstration.

IG Metall: "This is just a warning"
The walkout at almost all sites hurts Volkswagen, said IG Metall negotiator Thorsten Gröger in Wolfsburg. "But this is just a warning!" If Volkswagen continues to insist on its maximum demands, there is a threat of further escalation.

The next round of negotiations in a week's time will set the course, said works council leader Daniela Cavallo. If necessary, "we will take industrial action that suits Volkswagen".

Anyone who ignores the workforce is playing with fire - and we know how to turn sparks into flames!

IG-Metall-Verhandlungsführer Thorsten Gröger

In Zwickau, the local IG Metall district manager Dirk Schulze declared: "We will fight fiercely for every job." With its cost-cutting announcement three months ago, the Board of Management had "set the Volkswagen store on fire". Now "this place is burning brightly".

Further escalation threatens
The warning strikes last around two hours each and are to be repeated on every shift thereafter. IG Metall is thus increasing the pressure in the dispute over wage cuts, plant closures and job cuts. "We don't want this conflict - but we will continue it as long as the Executive Board only focuses on cuts and redundancies instead of prospects," said Gröger. "If necessary, this will be one of the toughest conflicts Volkswagen has ever seen."

Volkswagen did not initially provide any information on possible production losses. A spokesperson said that the company wanted to keep the impact as low as possible. The company had therefore taken specific measures to ensure an emergency supply.

The dispute concerns the pay of around 120,000 employees at Volkswagen AG plants, where a separate company wage agreement applies. In addition, there are more than 10,000 employees at VW Saxony, for whom an alignment with the company pay scale was agreed in 2021.

Union proposal rejected
VW had previously stated that it respects the employees' right to hold warning strikes and is continuing to seek an amicable solution with the employee side. However, the Group was tough on the matter: VW had rejected a counter-concept from IG Metall and the works council for savings without layoffs and plant closures as insufficient only on Friday.