愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Volkswagen's employee council says the automaker plans to close at least 3 German plants

A view of the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany, Oct. 28, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP) A view of the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany, Oct. 28, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Share
BERLIN -

Volkswagen has informed employee representatives that it wants to close at least three plants in Germany, the head of the company's works council said Monday.

Employee council chief Daniela Cavallo said at a meeting with Volkswagen workers at the company's Wolfsburg headquarters that management also plans cuts at other sites, and pledged to resist the plans, German news agency dpa reported. She said that "all German VW plants are affected by these plans. None is safe."

The company didn't give details of its plans. But chief personnel officer Gunnar Kilian said in a statement that "the fact is that the situation is serious and the responsibility of the negotiating partners is enormous," dpa reported.

Volkswagen said in early September that auto industry headwinds mean it can't rule out plant closures in its home country, and must drop a job protection pledge in force since 1994 that would have barred layoffs through 2029. CEO Oliver Blume cited new competitors entering European markets, Germany's deteriorating position as a manufacturing location and the need to "act decisively."

"Without comprehensive measures to restore competitiveness, we will not be able to afford significant future investments," Kilian said Monday. He added that management will stick to the principle of discussing Volkswagen's future with its internal negotiating partners first.

Pay negotiations between Volkswagen and the union are due to resume on Wednesday.

European automakers are facing increased competition from inexpensive Chinese electric cars. Volkswagen said last month that the company's half-year results indicated it would not achieve its target of 10 billion euros (US$10.8 billion) in cost savings by 2026.

Volkswagen has some 120,000 employees in Germany, where it has 10 plants -- six of them in the northern state of Lower Saxony, including Wolfsburg.

The IG Metall industrial union sharply criticized VW's reported closure plans. "We expect that, instead of cutback fantasies, sustainable concepts for the future be sketched out by Volkswagen and its management at the negotiating table," regional union leader Thorsten Groger said.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A major amusement park is part of Ontario's grand vision to turn the Niagara region into Las Vegas north, but Marineland may not fit the bill, the provincial tourism minister says.

Trump's Madison Square Garden event features crude and racist insults

Donald Trump took the stage Sunday night at New York's Madison Square Garden to deliver his campaign's closing argument with the election nine days away after several of his allies used crude and racist insults toward U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and other critics of the former president.

Local Spotlight

The Westfield & District Recreation Association hosted its first Witches and Warlocks on the Water event Saturday, with costumed paddlers in pointed hats launching from Westfield Beach.

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Stay Connected