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Germany · labournet.de · · 2h

Resistance to the consequences of the profit crisis for the car workforce is growing

By labournet.de

Deutsch (original) · Auto-translated to English

dossier

Es ist keine Wirtschaftskrise - es ist ein Raubzug“Personnel costs are not the reason for the problems of VW, Daimler or BMW, nor of Conti, Bosch or ZF. (IG Metall negotiator Thorsten Gröger, October 28, 2024, ZDF) There is therefore no reason to reduce wages in the auto and supplier industries. But IG Metall has every reason to defend the income and social rights of workers! In the first three quarters of 2024, the big three VW, Mercedes and BMW made profits of around 20 billion euros. The crisis is being conjured up in order to stir up fears and enforce social cuts. It is incomprehensible that IG Metall still declares: “We are ready to make a contribution.”.." From the editorial "Who owns the factories? You own the factories!" the“Action newspaper – for a transport industry with a future”No. 1 from March 2025, which also calls on IG Metall for resistance instead of social partnership - see other cross-manufacturer calls from the auto industry:

  • Revisited: Resistance without borders. Letter to the editor from Wolfgang Schaumberg dated February 17, 2002New
    “…However, what makes me a little more hopeful again: A comment in the business newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine” (FAZ) from January 17, 2002 analyzed the central problem of Opel management: the old, hard-fought company agreements had to go. “The trick,” writes the commentator, “is to soften contracts so that they provide the right relief (for Opel) but do not lead to a revolt!” The FAZ writer goes on to explain with brutal openness: "Shortly after taking office, Forster would probably have had to take advantage of the early hour and close a factory in Antwerp, which would have meant the least resistance. Or, if you do the math, Bochum. But who dares to approach Bochum given the particularly belligerent workforce there? Especially when you consider that due to the networking of production there are only around 500 striking employees in Bochum are necessary to paralyze all production in Europe.”…”Documentation of Wolfgang Schaumberg's contribution inexpress – newspaper for socialist company and trade union workIssue 9/2026 - it is a reprint of the article “My Opinion” by Wolfgang Schaumberg inResistance without borders - information from GoG No. 17 from February 2002(in the LabourNetArchive) (The GoG was a non-party group at GM/Opel Bochum, see for example: Dossier:[Video with and about the GoG] Film project about the resistance of the workforce at Opel in Bochum
  • Petition: RESPOND NOW! Stop the general attack by the bosses and their government. For militant unions. For the defense of our achievementsin the dossier:Resolution of the IG Metall shop stewards Mercedes Benz Untertürkheim: "Stop now. Protest, resistance, strike! The bosses want class struggle? They can have it!"
  • The big showdown: From the nationwide IG Metall day of action in the automotive industry to the expansion of social protests, including in companies?
    “…The nationwide days of action as an offensive response?
    Employment issues in the automotive industry have always been of particular organizational importance for IG Metall. Around one in three members comes from this area, so job losses are always accompanied by a significant decline in the number of members. IG Metall is “forced to fight in the current situation,” as an IG Metall official recently described it in a small discussion group. (…)
    The decision to mobilize across districts and brands was not an easy one; it required many loud voices from combative works councils and shop stewards from the companies (...) Whether such forms of action will be used across the board on this day or whether employees will "clock out" on the recommendation of more reserved works councils in order to take part in the protests can be seen as a mood test and gives an idea of what the collective bargaining movement will do - for the two days later, on September 23rd, demands will be decided – expected from October 31st. (…) Should there be mass political actions during working hours,    This could be an important trigger for further protests against the federal governmentbe. This presupposes that September 21st, as it seems intended in its conception, is understood and communicated as part of an overall choreography with the social protests on September 26th. This means that as part of the actions on Monday, September 21st, a connection to the social protests will be established and colleagues will be mobilized for the following Saturday through targeted speech. If many works councils and trust management bodies also had the courage to follow the traditions of past protests and carry out their actions during working hours, this could be possibleThis could be an important inspiration for the internal and inter-company expansion of the protests beyond September 26th. If automobile manufacturers lead the way, perhaps colleagues from other industries will also dare to go a step further?…”Comment by Marvin Hopp externer Link inexpress – newspaper for socialist company and trade union workIssue 9/2026
  • The mood is changing: discontent is growing among auto workers.
    “A letter from Mercedes Untertürkheim calls on IG Metall to say goodbye to the social partnership.
    After the savings plans of the German car companies have so far met with comparatively little resistance, the mood in some factories now seems to be changing. At Volkswagen, where the management wants to cut 50,000 jobs and is also considering closing the Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm plants, this became apparent at the beginning of the week at the first of nine planned works meetings. (…)
    Former VW works council member Stephan Krull also pointed out in an interview with “nd” that the group was by no means starving, despite a sales crisis that was the fault of management. VW still made a profit of 3.1 billion euros in the first half of 2026, has retained earnings of 160 billion euros and has paid out a total of 40 billion euros as dividends to shareholders in the last decade. “This huge amount of money could easily be invested in a transformation into a modern mobility company,” says Krull. The problem, however, is that the union leadership has not yet developed its own, self-confident ideas.
    Rebellion at Mercedes
    The mood at Mercedes in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim seems to be even more heated. The company's management had recently presented a savings program that even the public broadcaster SWR speculated was apparently intended to scare away employees. The dissatisfaction with the plans and the reaction of the unions so far is so great that the union trust body has also publicly taken on the IG Metall leadership. (…)
    Before the nationwide union day of action in the automotive industry on September 21st, the pressure in the cauldron is increasing. For Peter Vlatten, who used to be a member of the trust board at Mercedes Untertürkheim and is now active in the Berlin Trade Union Forum, the letter is more than just one of the usual resolutions. Untertürkheim has historically been one of IG Metall's strongest fighting companies and has often played a pioneering role for the industry, the retired trade unionist recalls in an interview with "nd". "This also had to do with the fact that a left-wing alternative list had a majority on the works council for many years." According to Vlatten's impression, union activism in the company has recently experienced a positive upswing. »Today there are 500 to 700 trade unionists active in the trust body. These are production workers. And that is also the qualitative difference to other explanations.«
    From Vlatten's point of view, there is a sense of willingness to strike in Untertürkheim. The problem, however, is that the IG Metall leadership has not yet done anything to prepare follow-up actions for the period after the planned protest days at the end of September. However, it now depends on exactly whether the unrest ultimately turns back into frustration    …”Article by Raul Zelik from August 27, 2026 in ND online externer Link– all of the protest letters mentioned can be found in the respective dossiers

  • “Togetherness is our strongest brand”: IG Metall is calling for a day of action nationwide in all companies in the automotive and supplier industry on Monday, September 21st
    “The employees of the auto industry are resisting the savings and relocation fantasies of their corporate bosses. At the nationwide day of action they will send a clear signal: competitiveness does not come from saving, but from investing.
    OnSeptember 21stThe employees of the automotive industry will send a clear signal - nationwide in countless company campaigns, at countless suppliers and manufacturers. No longer will they allow themselves to be scapegoats for a crisis they did not cause. They will no longer foot the bill for management errors and the consequences of geopolitical conflicts. That's over now!The employees say: That’s enough!
    Currently, the strategies of the corporate bosses cannot be surpassed in terms of audacity. Employees should work more, earn less or even lose their jobs, while companies pay out billions to shareholders. Relocations, job cuts and factory closures are on the agenda throughout Germany. Last year alone, corporate bosses destroyed over 50,000 jobs in the automotive industry. The company bosses are in the process of leading Germany's most important economic sector and central pillar of prosperity into insignificance and running it down. There is a risk of total loss for the traditional industry. One thing is clear: the industry cannot emerge from the crisis and become more competitivean austerity program, but only through investments and innovations externer Link.
    Employees from all brands stand together
    The crisis in the German automobile industry is largely self-inflicted because the executive boards of the car companies made a series of wrong decisions: small, affordable models were offered too late. Important developments in digitalization and batteries were overlooked. Investments in future technologies and locations were neglected.  That's why it's now time for employees to resist. The employees of some suppliers and manufacturers already have their company bosses with thema hot summer for some activitiesbestowed. On September 21st, they will clarify together and nationwide in their companies what phase must now be. They demand: Investments in sustainable products, qualification and safe locations are needed - not just short-term cost reductions    …”Call from August 11, 2026 to IG Metall externer Link(“On September 21st it will be loud. Nationwide day of action: Employees in the auto industry defend themselves against clear-cutting”)

  • Clear-cutting in the auto and supplier industry – resistance from employees
    Post from December 19, 2025 externer Linkin networking for militant unions (VKG)
  • “It's not the times that are bad, but the balance of power”: common property is not a utopia
    Speech by Thorsten Donnermeier, shop steward at VW Kassel, at a works meeting on June 4th, 2025 in full text in the dossier:Clear-cutting at VW from 2024? Car manufacturer plans billions in cuts to increase “efficiency”.
  • Works meeting at the Mercedes Benz plant in Hamburg on March 25th: "... what was agreed here is not a safeguard for the future. It is a curtailment of the future..."Text of the speech by Sven Vaith , Hall 12, iSG Manufacturing, works meeting at the Mercedes Benz plant in Hamburg on March 25, 2025 on the current savings program at Mercedes-Benz in the dossier:“Savings program” and increased efficiency thanks to electric cars also at Daimler – temporary workers first…
  • No losses, just a loss of profits at VW: It's not an economic crisis - it's a robbery.Leaflet from some colleagues from various VW locations   –  see background and previous protests in the dossier:Clear-cutting at VW from 2024? Car manufacturer plans billions in cuts to increase “efficiency”.
  • Action newspaper– for a transport industry with a future.See all information about the campaign newspaper
  • Christmas miracle or blue miracle at VW? Position paper from December 21, 2024 by Tobi Roswog, Thorsten Donnermeier and Lars Hiersekorn in the dossier:Clear-cutting at VW from 2024? Car manufacturer plans billions in cuts to increase “efficiency”. 
  • And: Statement from VW colleagues: We don't want to produce death at VW -Statement/leaflet from some VW colleagues from March 17, 2025 

See also:

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Source: labournet.de