Volkswagen is cancelling a no-layoffs pledge and won't rule out closing plants in Germany
Germany's Volkswagen says auto industry headwinds mean it can't rule out plant closings in its home country - and is dropping a longstanding job protection pledge in force since 1994 that would have barred layoffs through 2029. “The European automotive in...
VW is not a normal company. 20% of VW shares belong to the state of Lower Saxony. No matter who is currently in power in Lower Saxony, politics dominates everything in the Group. The core employees have an employment guarantee until 2029. This does not apply to temporary contracts. This employment guarantee may now be about to be abolished.
The trade unions are traditionally extremely strong. This is due to the fact that Lower Saxony was and to some extent still is deeply social democratic. There are four production plants in Lower Saxony as well as the our Hanover production plant for commercial vehicles. The latter is focused on the all-electric ID-Buzz, which nobody wants to buy. Ultimately, this plant is likely to be closed, as contract production for other brands has now completely collapsed, mainly due to the massive increase in energy costs and high wages. Osnabrück is also likely to be wound up. The closure modalities for the production plant in Brussels are currently being negotiated.
As the massive political influence cannot be eliminated, it is to be expected that the still global group will collapse in the near future.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)