The union says nearly 100,000 Volkswagen workers have joined strikes in Germany

Nearly 100,000 workers joined strikes at Volkswagen’s German factories on Monday to protest management’s plans to cut wages and close plants at Europe’s biggest carmaker, union IG Metall said, threatening further action.

With two-hour strikes by workers on morning shifts and disruptions on night shifts, a total of 98,650 employees at nine factories across Germany took part in the protest, the union said on Tuesday.

Volkswagen is threatening to close factories in Germany for the first time in its 87-year history to cut costs and boost profits. European automakers are facing weak demand, high production costs, competition from Chinese rivals and a slower-than-expected transition to electric vehicles.

“This was the first strong impact of a winter of protests. Volkswagen must come to its senses and abandon its plans, otherwise our colleagues will find the right answer,” IG Metall chief negotiator Thorsten Groeger said.

Last week, the union proposed measures that it said would save the company 1.5 billion euros, including waiving bonus payments to executives in 2025 and 2026. Management has rejected these measures as unrealistic and as a postponement of the inevitable.

Source: Terra

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