Workers at Volkswagen's plant in the south-eastern German city of Zwickau began walking off the job at am on Monday GMT , marking the start of nationwide strikes against the German auto giant. Workers at the rest of Volkswagen's plants in Germany are expected to follow suit later on Monday morning. The IG Metall trade union, which announced the strikes to protest management threats of wage cuts and plant closures, has called for two-hour work stoppages on every shift.
The strikes are meant to signal employees' intense opposition to the company's demands for across-the-board wage reductions, as well as threats of mass lay-offs at Europe's largest carmkar as part of a major cost-cutting programme to boost sagging financial results.
Wolfsburg was among the plants to follow, the union added. He added that the strikes are needed "to increase the pressure on management. According to the Volkswagen works council, management has also discussed shutting down three of the carmaker's plants in Germany, an unprecedented step at the long-time German manufacturing icon that would cost tens of thousands of jobs.
Weak demand, increased competition and a tougher Chinese market have all contributed to Volkswagen's woes. The carmaker has previously stated that, due to weak demand in Europe, the company currently has unused capacity to produce about , additional vehicles every year at its plants, or roughly the total capacity of two entire factories. Performance at the VW core brand in particular has lagged behind other marks in the VW Group portfolio, with executives also citing difficulties in transitioning toward electric vehicles.
A mandatory labour truce at VW, which prohibited strikes, expired over the weekend, paving the way for industrial action. IG Metall is demanding the preservation of all company locations and job security. The talks directly apply to about , workers at Volkswagen's plants in western Germany. Any agreement would also have direct implications for another 10, workers employed at Volkswagen plants in the eastern German state of Saxony.
