Volkswagen faces intensified strikes at German plants as workers protest wage cuts and closures amid union talks. With trust eroded, unions demand concessions, warning of longer strikes, while VW cites cost-cutting as essential to compete with cheaper Asian rivals.
Volkswagen workers ramped up pressure on its management with further strikes at the carmaker's German sites on Monday, as a fourth round of talks was set to begin in an increasingly bitter standoff over wage cuts and plant closures.
The latest round of negotiations, which initially kicked off in September, comes as Europe's largest carmaker seeks ways to radically cut costs in Germany to better compete with cheaper Asian rivals that have entered its home market.
The VW crisis has hit Germany at a time of uncertainty and domestic political upheaval in Europe's largest economy, as well as wider turmoil among the region's automakers. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, trailing in polls ahead of a snap election, warned VW against factory closures over the weekend.
Negotiations will start at around 12:30 p.m. (11:30 GMT) while workers will stage 4-hour strikes across nine of VW's German sites, the second walkouts in a week and twice as long as the 2-hour-long strikes that took place the first time.
Even before talks began, union leaders were threatening more strikes if VW did not move closer to their position, but left open the possibility of a solution by Christmas.
"It is time for the board to make a move," IG Metall's chief negotiator Thorsten Groeger said at a meeting in Wolfsburg where the company is headquartered.
"Our expectation for today is that the company stops insisting on its maximum positions and moves towards us. Trust has been destroyed... workers are very angry. The brand VW is under threat of becoming damaged by the behaviour of the board and the share price has been thrown to the bottom of the basement. That is the board's responsibility."
Workers, who dismiss any cuts to wages or plant closures, can crank up the pressure by eventually staging 24-hour strikes and even open-ended ones.
"Perhaps this will bring the VW Board of Management to its senses. Otherwise we will continue to tighten the thumbscrews," the IG Metall union said in a handout to employees on Friday, adding: "But then it will get really, really uncomfortable."
Volkswagen insists that capacity and wage cuts are needed because demand for cars in Europe has fallen while costs in Germany make it impossible to compete with new rivals.
Its chief negotiator Arne Meiswinkel said that unions and management needed to find alternative pathways to a solution for its German plants after the company rejected a proposal put forward by unions as unsustainable.
"We continue to need to reduce costs, reduce overcapacity," Meiswinkel said.
Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume last week defended the company's decisions as necessary in a fast changing environment, saying management could not operate "in a fantasy world".
U.S. President Donald Trump has said a peace agreement with Iran is scheduled to be signed on Sunday in a post on social media, despite Tehran's Fore...
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 13 June, covering the latest developments you need to know....
As the 2026 World Cup kicked off on 11 June across North America, U.S. visa restrictions and travel policies have made it impossible for supporters, ...
Every June, roughly 13 million young people in China sit down at the same time to take the same test. They have been preparing for it, in many cases, ...
European museums are increasingly returning cultural artefacts to countries in Africa and the Middle East, as pressure grows to address the legacy of ...
Volkswagen’s Brazil unit has been ordered to pay 165 million reais ($30.44 million) in damages for subjecting workers to slavery-like conditions on a farm during the 1970s and 1980s, labour prosecutors said on Friday.
Volkswagen cut its 2025 forecast after U.S. tariffs slashed €1.3 billion from profits, but strong EV demand and European sales offer signs of recovery.
Volkswagen cut its 2025 forecast after U.S. tariffs slashed €1.3 billion from profits, but strong EV demand and European sales offer signs of recovery.
In a stern warning to the automaker, the Indian government told a Mumbai court that quashing Volkswagen's demand to cancel a $1.4 billion tax bill would have "catastrophic consequences" and could encourage companies to withhold information and delay inquiries.
SpaceX has made history with the largest initial public offering ever in the United States, pricing its shares at $135 each and achieving a market valuation of $1.77 trillion.
Pakistan has warned that any attempt by India to block or significantly reduce river flows under the Indus Waters Treaty could have “far-reaching consequences”, after India's water minister said New Delhi was working to ensure that “not a single drop” of water reaches Pakistan in the coming years.
SpaceX made a historic entrance into the Nasdaq on Friday, surging over 20% in its first day of trading and lifting its valuation to more than $2 trillion. Investors flocked to the world’s largest IPO, betting on Elon Musk’s sprawling empire spanning rockets, AI and beyond.
Armenia has every right to choose Europe. But Europe’s support for Armenia’s direction should not become automatic approval of its political process.
While France hosts next week’s Group of Seven summit, businesses in neighbouring Switzerland have already begun taking precautions, with many shops in Geneva boarded up ahead of a large anti-G7 demonstration expected on Sunday.
At the start of 2026, something unusual happened in China's car market. BYD, the company that had spent years at the top of the domestic sales charts, was knocked off its perch by a rival.
Apple has unveiled a long-awaited upgrade to Siri, aiming to close the gap with technology rivals and emerging artificial intelligence firms in an increasingly competitive market.
ChatGPT maker OpenAI has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), the company said on Monday, joining rival Anthropic in a race to the stock market as investors seek exposure to the artificial intelligence boom.
Chinese carmakers are rapidly reshaping the global automotive market, with record exports, soaring electric vehicle sales and growing investments overseas putting pressure on established European, Japanese and U.S. rivals.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has begun its latest round of negotiations on creating the first binding global standards for platform-based work, covering services such as ride-hailing, food delivery and other app-based work.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment