Clear-cutting at VW from 2024? Car manufacturer plans billions in cuts to increase “efficiency”.

dossier

“…Since the beginning of October, VW management has been negotiating with the works council behind closed doors about an “efficiency program” that is intended to reduce costs by ten billion euros over the next three years. It is now becoming clear what forms the clear-cutting called “Accelerate forward” could take. As the Handelsblatt reported on Monday, Schäfer plans to cut between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs in the administration of VW AG alone. The affected employees should be disposed of preferentially through retirement arrangements; the rest could be taken care of by severance pay programs. The aim is to permanently reduce the number of employees and new hires should be kept to a minimum. In line with this, a hiring freeze was imposed for the most important German locations in Wolfsburg, Hanover, Braunschweig, Salzgitter, Emden and Kassel at the beginning of November. The car manufacturer even wants to put the red pencil on the highest-paid employees in the “Tarif-Plus” group, which currently has around 9,000 employees…”Article by Ralf Wurzbacher in the Junge Welt from November 14th, 2023 and more about this and the alternatives (for all auto/metal employees):

• What the hell was 2024 actually waived for? Member of the IGMvU Group Braunschweig initiative at the Volkswagen Supervisory Board meeting on September 3rd, 2026
  “I'll say it now as clearly as I now feel: I'm fed up. And I'm not writing this as an outsider, but as an IG Metall member, as a confidant and, above all, as a colleague who stands in the hall with people every day and notices how much trust has now been lost. What really makes me angry isn't just what Volkswagen is doing right now. I expect a corporate board member to pursue corporate interests. On the other hand, there is a union for that. But what the hell happened to this opposing side?
  Generations of colleagues have struck, fought and sometimes accepted personal disadvantages in order to enforce collective agreements, better pay, working time regulations, special payments, job security, co-determination and social standards. None of this was given away. And now I get the impression that these achievements, fought for over decades, are being torn down bit by bit. Not because the members decided that way. Not because the employees said: Take it away from us again. But because it is decided at some upper level what the employees can be expected to do next…”Open letter from Christian “Schulle” Schulze (IG Metall member and Representative, Initiative IGMvU Group Braunschweig) from September 5th, 2026 and four supporters. See the current backgrounds:
  • Supervisory Board approves 2030 future plan: Strong signal for the Volkswagen Group
    Press release from September 3rd, 2026 on volkswagen-group.com 
  • Details of the supervisory board resolutions: What the supervisory board resolutions mean now - and what they don't mean yet
    “Future of the plants, goals for further job cuts, spin-offs – the most important thing in the extra sheet…”Extra sheet from September 6th, 2026 from IG Metall at Volkswagen 
  • VW supervisory board meeting: Escalation prevented – the board must now do its homework
    “Joint statement on the occasion of today's VW Supervisory Board meeting from Christiane Benner, First Chairwoman of IG Metall, and Daniela Cavallo, Chairwoman of the General and Group Works Council of Volkswagen AG:
    "The board's confrontational course and communication in recent weeks have not been effective. Both have led to great uncertainty among the workforce throughout the group. The employees, together with the state of Lower Saxony, have once again taken responsibility in this situation, prevented a dangerous escalation of the conflict and paved the way for viable solutions. Everyone has moved towards each other to achieve this.
    A spin-off of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars core brand and the VW components is off the table, thus successfully averting the attack on the co-determination structures. No plant has been abandoned and, contrary to several media reports, no plant closure has been sealed. Rather, concrete solutions must now be developed for all locations - we continue to expressly believe that the Board of Directors has a duty to do so. (…) We see the challenges that the group faces and are ready to take responsibility and make our contribution. We proved that again today. The work is just beginning now. What we will never accept, however, is unilaterally placing the burden on employees.”Press release from IG Metall from September 3, 2026 
  • [“You cannot avoid the class struggle from above without self-sacrifice.”] Avoid the class struggle?
    “VW supervisory board meeting: escalation prevented? Co-determination was given up, austerity program, staff cuts and profit increase were decided, planned factory closures were “noted”. You cannot avoid the class struggle from above without giving yourself up. Whoever fights can lose, whoever doesn't fight has already lost.
    A look at the law makes it easier to find the law. Why does the VW law exist, what does it say and what does it say in the statutes of VW AG? “We gave up property rights and got the VW law in return,” says IG Metall. However, in the logic of a “free market”, the VW law is completely inappropriate from a regulatory and functional perspective.
    The VW supervisory board has decided on a drastic program to cut staff, reduce costs and increase profits; the supervisory board has “taken note” of the planned plant closures in Zwickau, Emden, Hanover and Neckarsulm instead of clearly rejecting them. I wrote: "The threat from the board of directors to have the entire program decided by the shareholders' meeting with the majority of the votes of the Porsche-Piëch family clan (53 percent of the voting rights) and thus to undermine co-determination apparently worked." But how reliable was or is this threat? However, the decisions at VW go far beyond VW and the auto industry and affect corporate governance, social architecture and Article 20 of the Basic Law as a whole….”Article from September 7th, 2026 by and by Stephan Krull 
  • 50,000 jobs gone – and armaments as an “alternative”? – VW Osnabrück shows what threatens other plants
    “…The employees should pay the bill. What are the “other solutions”? “Alternative uses” should be sought for works without secured follow-up production. We are currently experiencing what something like this can look likeOsnabruck. The previous VW factory goes to the arms company Rafael . The message suddenly becomes: lose your job – or produce weapons. We do not accept this choice. What is happening to Osnabrück today can threaten other plants tomorrow. If civilian production is reduced under pressure to make returns and at the same time billions are invested in armaments, the defense industry quickly becomes the supposed savior of jobs.
    First, civilian jobs will be destroyed. Then war production is offered as a salvation. In this way, employees and entire regions are made economically dependent on rearmament and war. (…)
    We also have to fight for WHAT is produced in our factories. Not tanks, rockets and other military equipment, but what is needed by society: public transport, affordable mobility, energy and transport transition, civil and ecologically sensible products. Secure jobs and sensible civilian production belong together. Osnabrück must therefore be a warning: If we wait until the board, owners and politicians have decided, in the end only their “alternatives” remain...”Update from September 7th, 2026 to the petition Say No! Trade unionists against war, militarism and civil peace
    •  And in the dossier:“Future Osnabrück”: Public transport instead of tanks – for a civilian future at the VW Osnabrück site!new: VW Osnabrück becomes a “competence center for security and defense solutions”: BR and IGM welcome takeover by Aurelius – “Zukunftswerk Osnabrück” ends the transformation campaign amid criticism
  • VW: Thanks for nothing
    “The agreement on the cuts program for Volkswagen is very bad for the employees and a blow to co-determination. (…)
    Despite the loud opposition from IG Metall, the supervisory board unanimously decided that 50,000 more jobs would be cut, that more cars (900,000 per year) should be brought onto the market with fewer employees, that investments should be cut, and that the return on sales should be increased to nine percent. The works council explains that the burdens should not be borne “unilaterally” by the workers. But if profits are to increase to over 30 billion euros per year, then the burden distribution in the decision is already very one-sided. This is the second time after the collective bargaining agreement in December 2024 with a reduction in wages and an extension of working hours: a major bloodletting on the part of the workers. (…)
    According to the works council and IG Metall, together with the state of Lower Saxony they prevented a “dangerous escalation of the conflict”. To achieve this, everyone involved moved towards each other. But just two weeks ago, Christiane Benner, the chairwoman of IG Metall, criticized the board's return targets as a "land of clouds." Now Cloud Cuckoo Land has won with their approval: there is a method to the madness.
    It will soon become clear that this agreement is also a blow to the works council and IG Metall and an attack on co-determination. When a works council honestly stated at an event on the crisis in the auto industry a few days ago that alternatives to car production were not being considered within the works council and IG Metall, an engineer present expressed deep disappointment: "If we are invited to develop and construct something other than cars, all our colleagues will immediately come forward."
    Everyone at Volkswagen and in the auto industry knows that things cannot continue like this and are angry, desperate and frustrated that increased competition should continue to the detriment of people, communities and nature. The quick and unopposed approval of this corporate planning does not solve any problem at Volkswagen, but it increases competition and further fuels the climate catastrophe. The VW employees say for the second time in a short time: “Thanks for nothing.”“Comment by Stephan Krull from September 4th, 2026 in ND online 
• The VW workforce should become more profitable. Point. “Horror reports” and “letting off steam” about the Blume tour can also help.
  • Media reports are nonsense: Has the closure of four plants already been decided by a board decision?
    “No – but the media gives the false impression that the fate of the locations has already been sealed. Since Tuesday afternoon, headlines such as: “Board of Directors decide to close four VW plants” have been circulating in the media. One of the media reports also says: "The board could probably implement the idleness of the German plants bypassing the supervisory board. Because it is not planning to close any plants directly - they just should no longer receive follow-up products." A short preliminary remark: This is all nonsense, nonsense, nonsense. We explain in detail why this is the case later in this article…”Contribution from September 2nd, 2026 from IG Metall at Volkswagen 
    • Report from East Frisia and Hanover
      “Clear edge in Emden too: the state government is firmly behind the location.Olaf Lies and Julia Willie Hamburg visited a factory in East Frisia - rejection of the proposal for a 40-hour week.(…) Daniela Cavallo also said this Monday during the press conference in Emden: "Here in Emden today we saw that what we agreed upon together in 2024 - this hard path that we agreed upon together - has also been implemented. The workforce, the works council, IG Metall: We have delivered. And now, of course, we rightly expect, because it was agreed exactly that way, that the board will also keep its promise; namely that there will also be follow-on products here in Emden as soon as current products expire and of course we will continue to do so!”…”Report from September 1st, 2026 from IG Metall at Volkswagen 
  • VW: Major attack on IG Metall
    “Volkswagen is an example of the automobile industry in Germany. The company boycotted the mobility transition and only produced large, expensive vehicles instead of inexpensive, small cars. Chinese car manufacturers have left German companies behind in terms of technology. Now VW is threatening its employees again and wants to push back the influence of the works council and break the strength of IG Metall. The group is talking about cutting a further 50,000 jobs and closing plants in Zwickau, Emden, Hanover and Neckarsulm. This is a major attack on the workers and the union. VW had only ruled out plant closures and operational layoffs until the end of 2030 at the end of 2024 in return for wage reductions, longer working hours and consent to cut more than 35,000 jobs…”Post from August 28, 2026 by and with Stephan Krull 
  • Blume pushes for tough cuts: CEO explains himself to workers in VW plants, remains vague and receives contradictions from the head of the works council
    “Volkswagen boss Oliver Blume continues to beat around the bush. He had hardly anything concrete to say on Tuesday in Wolfsburg in front of over 10,000 employees about the announced loss of a further 50,000 jobs in the group and the future of four German factories. However, he announced at the works meeting that “about half” of the jobs in Germany and the other half abroad would be eliminated. The employees at the main plant of Germany's largest car manufacturer met in and in front of Hall 11. Many people followed the exchange of blows between Blume and the head of the general works council, Daniela Cavallo, live on screens outside. The company boss also said that “resilient prospects” would be created for all locations in the next six to twelve months. The process was then repeated in front of the assembled workers in the Braunschweig factory. (…)
    The committee will meet again on September 4th. The new plan is being worked on “day and night,” IG Metall boss and supervisory board vice-chair Christiane Benner revealed to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS). However, she didn't reveal much more. “The future does not come about by giving up and resorting to installments,” the Lower Saxony IG Metall district manager Thorsten Gröger specified on Tuesday in a statement that was available to jW. He referred to the already agreed loss of 50,000 jobs in 2024. “Cooperation is possible,” he offered the company bosses. At the same time, Gröger warned of a conflict “that could become harder than before.”..”Article by Mirko Knoche in the young world from August 26, 2026 
  • For which VW is cutting thousands of jobs
    “The car company is saving on staff despite billions in profits. The reason given is the return. It is too low. What does that mean?
    Volkswagen boss Oliver Blume toured the VW locations this week to prepare the workforce for further billions in savings. A job cut of 50,000 positions is being discussed, although the previous round of savings has already reduced factory costs by around a fifth. Why is this necessary? After all, VW made a profit of around six billion euros (before taxes) in the first half of 2026. According to Blume, the real problem is the return. Most recently it was 3.8 percent, which, according to Blume, is leading VW directly into an existential crisis. Why isn’t 3.8 percent enough? The answer goes straight to the heart of capitalism.
    It is often said that the prevailing economic system is all about profit. The central measure, however, is the return. The amount determines whether a production is worthwhile for investors and therefore takes place or not. (…)
    It should be seven percent
    So why isn’t 3.8 percent VW enough? Firstly, because a lot still has to be deducted from the operating profit, for example taxes, interest or restructuring costs.
    Secondly, the lenders – banks, shareholders – demand market returns. In order to remain attractive to them as an investment, VW must increase its returns. A calculation by the bank UBS shows that the richest households in Germany have achieved returns of over seven percent per year in recent years. In contrast, VW is falling, which is weighing on its share price and increasing the risk of a takeover.
    Thirdly, VW has to finance its investments from its operating profit - and these are foreseeably huge. (…)
    In short: VW's workforce should become cheaper and more profitable in order to meet the demands of financiers and to steal market share from competitors, which in turn forces these competitors to cut costs for their workforce. VW has to do that. But that's what it wants to do, as its corporate purpose is to increase the wealth of its owners…”Article by Stephan Kaufmann from August 26, 2026 in ND online 
• VW flower on site tour for tough cuts in the workforce for the shareholders - the colleagues whistle, the general works council wants it to be “socially acceptable”
  • First of three site visits in Lower Saxony: Co-determination at VW has Land on their side
    “Daniela Cavallo confirms: Plant closures are out of the question – Olaf Lies warns the board.
    Together with the general works council, Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Olaf Lies stopped off in Hanover on Monday for the first of three joint site visits. (…) After the tour in Hanover, Lies and Cavallo will also stop off in Osnabrück (Wednesday) and Emden (Monday) in the next few days. Lower Saxony's state father is planning a virtual exchange with the Saxon location in Zwickau…”Report from August 25, 2026 under IG Metall at Volkswagen – see the other daily comments onhttps://www.igm-bei-vw.de/ 
  • Dates for the additional company meetings at the end of August have been set
    PARTICIPATE!-Extra sheet from July 17th 
  • Blume pushes for tough cuts: CEO explains himself to workers in VW plants, remains vague and receives contradictions from the head of the works council
    “Volkswagen boss Oliver Blume continues to beat around the bush. He had hardly anything concrete to say on Tuesday in Wolfsburg in front of over 10,000 employees about the announced loss of a further 50,000 jobs in the group and the future of four German factories. However, he announced at the works meeting that “about half” of the jobs in Germany and the other half abroad would be eliminated. The employees at the main plant of Germany's largest car manufacturer met in and in front of Hall 11. Many people followed the exchange of blows between Blume and the head of the general works council, Daniela Cavallo, live on screens outside. The company boss also said that “resilient prospects” would be created for all locations in the next six to twelve months. The process was then repeated in front of the assembled workers in the Braunschweig factory. (…)
    The committee will meet again on September 4th. The new plan is being worked on “day and night,” IG Metall boss and supervisory board vice-chair Christiane Benner revealed to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS). However, she didn't reveal much more. “The future does not come about by giving up and resorting to installments,” the Lower Saxony IG Metall district manager Thorsten Gröger specified on Tuesday in a statement that was available to jW. He referred to the already agreed loss of 50,000 jobs in 2024. “Cooperation is possible,” he offered the company bosses. At the same time, Gröger warned of a conflict “that could become harder than before.”..”Article by Mirko Knoche in the young world from August 26, 2026 
  • Power struggle at Volkswagen: Works council boss rules out dismissals for operational reasons
    “VW is planning to close factories and cut tens of thousands of jobs. Meanwhile, works council boss Daniela Cavallo is fighting to keep her job and take part in early retirement.
    Volkswagen works council boss Daniela Cavallo ‌rules out operational dismissals at Europe's largest car manufacturer. “My line is clear,” she said on Monday after a visit to the VW plant in Hanover. “We have fought for job security and we will continue to fight in the future to ensure that changes take place in a socially acceptable way.”
    It is important that partial retirement and in particular the block model can continue to be offered. “If that falls, then we will have to talk about other measures, and as an IG Metall member I am not available for that,” she said. She also rejected factory closures. Cavallo emphasized that this was not an option for her.
    At the extraordinary works meetings at Volkswagen, she expects the VW board to explain itself to the workforce. It's not just about possible factory closures or massive job cuts. “A future program cannot arise or exist simply by talking about reducing labor costs and staff cuts and questioning locations,” said Cavallo…”Agency report from August 25, 2026 in the taz online 
  • Quote on the topic of “socially acceptable”:
    “…The GoG has made it clear again and again: for one person or another, such a result – job cuts with severance pay, etc. – may perhaps be individually “tolerable”. Socially, in terms of society, this is cruel. The term “socially acceptable” probably means “without social unrest…”GoG comment from November 22, 2013 (Operating group Counterforce without Borders at Opel Bochum)
  • Debate: Should VW be socialized? At VW there is more at stake than just a round of austerity. Should the state take over the company?
    “Few companies represent Germany's economic situation as symbolically and realistically as Volkswagen. Nine extraordinary works council meetings are planned these days, and up to 100,000 jobs are at stake worldwide. Given the size and importance of the group, the outcome of this crisis will not only determine tens of thousands of jobs, but also who will own Germany's industrial future: the Porsche Piëch heirs and the shareholders or the workforce? Economist Katharina Keil calls for socialization and a social-ecological restructuring of VW. Surplus editor Patrick Kaczmarczyk disagrees…”Pros and cons by Katharina Keil and Patrick Kaczmarczyk from August 25, 2026 in Surplus magazine (subscription from then on)
  • [The Truth] Cheers in the cutting line
    “Volkswagen is saving itself from the automobile crisis with a completely new concept: a test factory that is not just for disassembly.
    What has been known on the radio at the Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg has been official since yesterday: The management of Germany's largest car manufacturer is relying on a completely new employment model with the concept "Volkswagen Industrial Museum - vehicle construction in demonstration mode". It stipulates that hundreds of combustion engines from the classic Golf brand will continue to be assembled at the main factory in Wolfsburg every day, but will no longer be sold. Instead, the finished vehicles go to a so-called dismantling line, where they are completely dismantled by specially trained dismantlers. All the parts then go back to the production line, where the car manufacturers put them back together into vehicles, which are then dismantled again. Crazy? Not at all. An initial test operation is underway…”Gloss by Fritz Tietz from August 26, 2026 in the taz online – the best comment on the topic, please read!
• Things stink at Porsche: Sports car manufacturer is destroying another 5,000 jobs in the Stuttgart region through the “future package”. IG Metall welcomes “location security” and doesn’t give a damn about the climate
  “The future at Porsche stinks of gasoline. A real sports car has to roar, not purr and pollute the air. At least that's what the German car manufacturer's predominantly male and wealthy customers think and punish its attempts to jump on the electromobility bandwagon with a decreasing desire to buy. The board has reacted to falling sales in this country, but especially in China, where luxury electric cars are now manufactured more cheaply. As Spiegel recently reported, the company is changing its strategy: it wants to put the brakes on the construction of electric vehicles and instead increasingly produce “exclusive race cars with combustion engines”. The magazine quoted a "frustrated" developer: "Everything feels like we've rewound time ten years."
  The past is apparently also very important to employee representatives. On Monday, the VW subsidiary presented a “future package” at a works meeting at the main plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, which is intended to chart the brand’s course until 2035. According to the plans, a further 5,000 jobs in the region will fall victim to the red pencil. In addition to the main location, the development center in nearby Weissach is also affected. The loss of personnel should be carried out in a “socially acceptable manner” through natural fluctuation, demographic effects, partial retirement and voluntary termination agreements, as stated in a Porsche statement. The remaining employees will have to forego parts of the current and future wage increases, accept cuts in Christmas bonuses and special payments and will in future only be able to work from home on eight days instead of the previous twelve.
  In addition to management and works councils, the metal industry union (IGM) and the Südwestmetall employers' association were also involved in the negotiations. The agreement has a “signaling effect,” said the chairman of the general works council, Ibrahim Aslan. "Nobody would have believed us in advance that we would conclude a future package by the end of 2035." The core of the agreement is the extension of location security for the next nine years and investments of around 2.1 billion euros in the two production facilities in southwest Germany. While the two-door sports cars will continue to roll off the assembly line in Zuffenhausen, Weissach will remain the company's main development location. (…)
  In the case of Porsche, even a disastrous decision on climate protection by IG Metall is glorified as a project for the future. “The agreement creates prospects for the employees and is a clear commitment to Germany as an industrial location,” said Tamara Hübner, second representative of IGM Stuttgart. And Carsten Schumacher, head of the works council in Weissach, emphasized the importance of the location “continuing to be the pivotal point for the development of our emotional sports cars in the future.”
  Porsche frontman Leiter's wet dream is an upgrade of the 911 called "S1" with an eight-cylinder boxer engine at a cost of 500,000 euros. The swanky vehicle is not expected to become a bestseller until 2031 at the earliest, at a cost of half a million euros. The simple Porsche worker can start saving. According to the agreement, collective bargaining employees should receive a one-off “transformation bonus” of 1,500 euros. Those from IG Metall even get 1,911 euros. That's convincing.”Article by Ralf Wurzbacher in the Junge Welt from July 29, 2026 
• VW boss ignores IG Metall's ultimatum, which threatens to hold works meetings after the summer break - and a "car expert" sees collective bargaining autonomy as the problem
  • Pre-final laurels are gone: VW boss Blume lets the ultimatum pass - loss of trust grows
    “After the summer break, the CEO now has to answer questions at company meetings.
    Group boss Dr. Oliver Blume has let a deadline pass by which he should finally give employees details about his plans for several location closures in Germany and large-scale job cuts. The group works council issued the ultimatum on Thursday after there was no clarity on the speculation that had been raging for weeks even after the end of a supervisory board meeting in Wolfsburg (Here's more about Thursday's events and the ultimatum). The CEO ignored the request and instead simply informed management on Friday - but they were not supposed to pass on the crucial details. That's why Dr. Blume can now meet the employees directly: Work meetings are used for this…”Report from July 11, 2026 from IG Metall at Volkswagen 
  • The Group Operations Committee and the Volkswagen Management Association take a position: Employee representatives write a letter to the workforce
    “In connection with the reporting of the past few days, particularly with regard to the Volkswagen Supervisory Board meeting on Thursday, the Group Operations Committee (KBA) and the Volkswagen Management Association (VMA) wrote a letter to the workforce. (…)
    Yesterday, Thursday, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG met. Afterwards, the board dealt with the well-known phrasesreported to speak . None of this addresses the company's actual core problems. And none of this even begins to adequately address your fears and concerns. Because this is so shameful, we also spoke up on Thursday evening and told the group CEOultimatum set.We have rarely received such clear and unanimous feedback on our communication. In particular, the sentence “The management's treatment of the workforce can no longer be surpassed in terms of disrespect” obviously speaks to you as a workforce.You are not alone with this criticism of company management. (…) Colleagues, we as your employee representatives know only too well how tough the economic pressure is at the moment, how tight the competition and how compelling the need to fundamentally change things - including by means of adjustments that will be painful. But the crucial question is: For what, with what long-term goal, and in what overall context should this happen? (…)
    In this context, a debate about the terms “endangered” and “intelligent solutions” is also urgently needed. We do not currently see any acute threat to our existence, but we cannot close our eyes to the ongoing difficult conditions. After all, it should not be forgotten that the board of directors saw the group in such a good position in recent years that dividends could be paid out to shareholders. The same applies to the mantra-like repetition of the statement about “intelligent solutions” for endangered locations. In order for these solutions to materialize, the board of directors must deliver them - and not just swear them to the media and investors. And for this we need cutting-edge technologies and inspiring products in all brands – that is the task and responsibility of the Board of Directors. Dear colleagues, we would like to encourage you and give you more confidence. But we know that this letter cannot suddenly resolve your uneasy feeling…”Report and letter dated July 10, 2026 from IG Metall at Volkswagen – see:
    • “…The union representatives currently have a majority of ten votes on the supervisory board, which has equal representation, as one seat has been vacant on the capital side since Julia Wiegand stepped down in June. So you could block all decisions. In addition, the state of Lower Saxony, which has 20 percent of the voting rights, often votes with the union representatives.(…) In fact, the IGM and the works council are preparing to work even more closely with the board than before during the next round of clear-cutting. This is shown in a joint letter that the Group Operations Committee (KBA) and the Volkswagen Management Association (VMA) addressed to the workforce the day after the Supervisory Board meeting. The KBA brings together the heads of works councils from all German brands and companies, while the VMA represents the interests of managers.The letter from the works council leaders reads as if it had been written by Roland Berger or another management consultancy. Behind a veil of moral indignation - "The management's treatment of the workforce can no longer be surpassed in terms of disrespect" - he renews the offer of cooperation and gives advice on how the clear-cutting can be implemented more effectively and smoothly.We “know only too well how tough the economic pressure is at the moment, how tight the competition is and how compelling the need to fundamentally change things – including by means of adjustments that will be painful,” the letter says…" From theComment by Peter Schwarz from July 10, 2026 at wsws : “Volkswagen: Set-up game between the board of directors, works council and IG Metall”
  • VKL EXTRA: The future needs clarity – no uncertainty!
    VKL from July 17, 2026 
  • Resistance from VW and Mercedes-Benz: Employees in the auto industry issue a warning
    “The employees in the automotive industry have had enough. They will no longer allow themselves to be made scapegoats when management errors and geopolitical conflicts are the cause of the crisis. There were nationwide campaigns at VW, and 33,000 employees at Mercedes-Benz took to the streets. It was just the start…”Report from IG Metall dated July 9, 2026 
  • Dudenhöffer calls for an end to the 35-hour week at VW
    “In view of the crisis in the German auto industry, car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer is calling for a return to the 40-hour week without wage compensation at Volkswagen. This would at least partially solve “the problem of high production costs,” said the head of the private Center Automotive Research (CAR) institute in the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “Let’s throw away collective bargaining autonomy for a few years!” said Dudenhöffer and called on politicians, unions and companies to hold joint discussions. “The employees have to do without.” Germany has achieved too much prosperity while international competition has become stronger…”Report from July 11, 2026 in the Handelsblatt online 
  • See also:Auto industry: in the middle of catastrophe! Or: “The class struggle from above cannot be overcome with social partnership.”
• Day of action by the IG Metall shop stewards and works councils (“no warning strikes”) on Thursday, July 9th (for the supervisory board meeting) at all German locations of the VW Group
  “The IG Metall shop stewards and works council members in the Volkswagen Group are showing their colors in view of the current reporting on the clear-cutting plans and the attacks on co-determination by the Volkswagen board. On Thursday, July 9th, actions will take place at all VW Group locations in Germany.
  Christiane Benner, first chairwoman of IG Metall, explains: "This is a clear signal to the board: Not with us! The employees have made their contributions. Instead of dumping the failures of the last few years on the backs of the workforce: take care of the optimization potential between the brands and better cooperation. We will not accept the constant attacks on the rights of our colleagues without resistance. In a difficult situation, we stand together and demand from the company and also from politics: ideas and concepts, like the plants to be utilized to capacity and protection against unfair competition.”
  Daniela Cavallo (chairwoman of the general and group works councils at Volkswagen AG) and Thorsten Gröger (lead negotiator for IG Metall on the company collective agreement at Volkswagen) appear before the press in Wolfsburg (see below).
  Attention: These are actions by IG Metall shop stewards and works council members. These are information or protest events and not warning strikes - we are currently obliged to keep peace in the collective agreement at Volkswagen AG as well as in the metal and electrical industries.”Report from July 7th, 2026 from IG Metall at Volkswagen with start times for all campaigns across Germany (Volkswagen, AUDI, Porsche and MAN Truck & Bus)
  • IG Metall has announced a “hot summer” for the auto industry, seeIG Metall’s “Hot Summer” Part 1 at Mercedes-Benz: 33,000 colleagues protest against unpaid extension of working hours – will more heat-free campaigns follow?
• Will the threat of the VW law break IG Metall and GBR's resistance to further job cuts and factory closures - or activate the base? 
  • VW in “delivery mode” attacking employees
    “According to media reports, up to 100,000 of the current 657,000 jobs in the Volkswagen Group will be lost worldwide. The reduction targets that have become known correspond to a doubling of the previous target. According to the report, four plants in Germany could be closed in the medium term.
    In addition to job cuts, management is planning adjustments to the company structure.The core brand Volkswagen and the components subsidiary are to be separated from the group and converted into their own companies. These plans from the Group Executive Board will be on the Supervisory Board’s agenda at the beginning of July. (…)
    The Association of the German Automotive Industry (VDA) alsowarns of 225,000 lost jobs. When such warning signals come from management levels, "it is no longer the normal noise of a crisis, but rather an indication that the old successful model is visibly eroding," says Stefan Reindl, director of the Institute for the Automotive Industry (IfA). Is this a painful transformation - or is the German auto industry facing a historic crash? (…)
    At the Beijing Auto Show at the end of April, Volkswagen triedto radiate a demonstrative spirit of optimism. “We are in delivery mode,” said Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume. Now there is a massive savings program in this country at the expense of employees. As the research network Correctiv has determined, Blume is even prepared to circumvent possible resistance on the supervisory board, because the employee representatives and the state of Lower Saxony have 12 of the 20 votes there. According to the Stock Corporation Act, the management board can call an extraordinary general meeting in the event of a negative vote from the supervisory board if it sees the existence of the company at risk. That's exactly what it boils down to. According to Correctiv, the shareholder meeting could take place as early as August.
    With such an affront to the representatives of organized wage laborand their unions, the necessary reconstruction and restructuring of the company cannot be achieved, even if Blume were to get the majority of shareholders on his side. A reorganization of the company in the face of resistance from employees would take years. Time that VW doesn't have.”Comment from the Sozialismus.de editorial team from June 30, 2026 , see also
  • Volkswagen: Board of Directors wants to push through austerity package despite no vote from Supervisory Board
    "The board of directors around VW boss Blume wants to call an extraordinary general meeting if the supervisory board rejects the rigid restructuring plan. (…) In order to prevent the crash, the group wants to make massive savings. The board has had a package drawn up that includes job cuts, a reduction in the number of models and the sale of subsidiaries. The plan includes, among other things, a sale of the motorcycle brand Ducati and the car rental company Europcar. The stake in the Traton truck division is to be increased from 87 VW wants to bring money into the house by 75 percent.
    The package also includes the closure of the four plants in Emden, Hanover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm by 2035 if labor costs there cannot be reduced. In addition, the main factory of the Porsche subsidiary in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen is to be significantly reduced in size. According to CORRECTIV information, production is to be relocated to Eastern Europe. The labor costs in the factories there are significantly lower, it was said in company circles. In addition, up to 65,000 additional jobs are to be cut. (…)
    Lower Saxony is the second largest shareholder after the Porsche/Piëch family and, through the so-called VW law, has a say in location decisions, including closures. The state and works council have 12 of the 20 votes on the supervisory board, so they can block the restructuring. In the past, both groups had often voted together.
    Splitting is intended to give management more power
    According to the circles, the extraordinary shareholders' meeting could still take place in August. A reorganization of the group would then also be up for vote. Unlike Audi or Porsche, the VW brand has merged with the holding company. According to the plans, the core brand is to be separated and transferred to its own unit. The components area (i.e. car parts) should also be separated into its own area.With this conversion, the VW (with Skoda and Seat/Cupra), components, Audi, Porsche and the Traton truck division would be divided into the holding company.An advantage from the board's point of view: The special rights for the locations stipulated in the VW law would then only apply to the actual VW plants. The influence of Lower Saxony would thus be pushed back to some extent…”Research by Martin Murphy from June 29, 2026 at correctiv.org 
  • VW wants to cut 100,000 jobs – four plants at risk
    “VW is apparently planning larger job cuts than previously known. The Wolfsburg-based group wants to cut 100,000 of the approximately 657,000 jobs worldwide. Four plants could close, including in Lower Saxony. The plants in Hanover and Emden, among others, could be affected. The plant in Zwickau (Saxony) and the Audi plant in Neckarsulm (Baden-Württemberg) are also on the brink. When the models currently being built there expire, complete production will be stopped. According to NDR information, VW boss Oliver Blume presented a corresponding restructuring concept to executives. “Manager Magazin” first reported and cited insiders. With the savings plans, the VW Group is doubling its previous reduction targets. With the savings plans, the VW Group is doubling its previous reduction targets. (…)
    Works council criticizes “irresponsible threats”
    The workforce immediately announced resistance to the new austerity plans. The VW works council speaks of “irresponsible threats”, as stated in a joint statement by Christiane Benner, First Chairwoman of IG Metall, Daniela Cavallo, VW Works Council Chairwoman, and Thorsten Gröger, District Manager IG Metall Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. If the plans were to move forward, the employee representatives would do everything in their power to prevent them, it was said…”NDR report from June 26, 2026 
  • Alleged clear-cutting plans at VW
    “Group works council and IG Metall: VW Group board should finally do its job!
    Once again, media reports are unsettling the workforce - speculation is now also surrounding the VW law. (…) The first chairwoman of IG Metall, Christiane Benner, the VW Group works council chairwoman Daniela Cavallo and the IG Metall district manager Thorsten Gröger, who is responsible for the VW company tariff, then commented as follows:
    "The renewed media reports are rightly unsettling our workforce and our location regions. But: Attacks on the VW law, co-determination and our locations are irresponsible threats. If such plans were to be pushed forward, we would do everything in our power to prevent them. What is crucial anyway is something completely different: instead of showing blind activism, the board should finally do its job and concentrate on its actual work: competitive products, technologies, group structures and synergies and thus also secure employment." (…)
    The speculation also led to numerous other reactions from the industry beyond Volkswagen. Here is an example from the district manager of IG Metall Baden-Württemberg, Barbara Resch: "If the reports are confirmed, it would be a frontal attack on the future of industrial jobs! Plant closures and massive job cuts are not a strategy for the future of the German automotive industry. Anyone who closes locations loses know-how, innovative strength and the trust of the employees. Our solidarity goes out to all affected employees - in Neckarsulm as well as in Hanover, Emden, Osnabrück, Zwickau and at all other Volkswagen Group locations The future of the German automotive industry will not be decided by location competition, but rather by investments, innovations and a clear industrial strategy.”…”Report from IG Metall to Volkswagen dated June 26, 2026 , including Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Olaf Lies and Lower Saxony's Deputy Prime Minister Julia Willie Hamburg and the official statement from the Volkswagen company website
    • For Audi see the dossier:In 2019, Audi announced that it would cut 9,500 jobs in Germany over the next 5 years – permanent workforce “secured” until 2029?
  • VW Zwickau: IG Metall representatives speak out with two actions
    “Around 100 colleagues made it clear with two actions on June 29th: We do not accept the way VW treats us. (…) They are fooling us so much! We should build cars in 40 degree heat, reduce factory costs, keep our mouths shut - and at the same time the fine gentlemen take their (capital) sheep to dry land. Word is getting around that individual managers want to leave the plant. “The rats are leaving the sinking ship.”
    There are a lot of discussions: everything too late, masses read? Give the companies even more money and let them do what the AfD does‑post? Or really fight and throw everything into the balance? People have to lead the way and have a plan, that is becoming more and more clear. It is welcomed that IG Metall wants to organize action days.”Correspondence message from June 29, 2026 on rf-news.de 
  • Job cuts at VW: wrecking ball instead of transformation
    “The audacity of the bonus cashiers at the top of the company is hard to beat. The workers should pay again for sitting out problems (…) If in Saxony alone the flagship of electromobility is to be destroyed with the factory in Zwickau, which was expensively modernized just a few years ago, then this is a more than clear indication that the managers have no concept whatsoever for the future of the company. And that they are prepared to destroy one of the few remaining industrial cores in Saxony for their own interests and those of major shareholders. Because for every one of the 10,000 VW jobs there, another one is lost at regional suppliers.
    Such behavior hardly differs from that of absolutist rulers and is a frontal attack not only on the workforce, but on democracy. There are many of those though. But this is so serious that the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony have to give the top management a hand if they don't want to lose the last bit of credibility. And the employees themselves will probably have to prepare for a tough fight. A corporatization of this company, into which huge sums of tax money have already flowed, would be the order of the day. But one in which the employees have the say and not managers who work according to the same “market economy” principles as those in the healthcare system.”Article by    Jana Frielinghaus from June 27, 2026 in ND online 
  • VW: No consideration for jobs
    “Volkswagen wants to cut 100,000 jobs, close four plants – and spin off the brand of the same name in order to reduce the influence of the union and the works council  (…)
    It is also planned to spin off the Volkswagen brand from the group of the same name, Manager Magazine continues. The group structure is subject to the VW law, which ensures the state of Lower Saxony a blocking minority. The aim is to withdraw the brand from the VW law and thus radically curtail the influence of employees at Volkswagen. In the future, the head of the supervisory board of the spun-off brand, together with the capital side, should be able to overrule the workforce representatives. The business magazine relies on insiders who provided information about a board meeting on Wednesday. (…)
    Uncertainty is therefore spreading in the companies, complained the spokesman for IG Metall Lower Saxony, Jan Mentrup, in an interview with jW. The union chairwoman Christiane Benner, VW Group works council head Daniela Cavallo and Lower Saxony's IGM head Thorsten Gröger said they would "prevent such cuts with all their might" in an extremely brief joint statement. According to Mentrup, warning strikes are not exempt from this…”Article by Michael König in the young world from June 27th, 2026 
• More factory closures or Chinese partners at VW? According to the works council and IG Metall, “red lines remain unchanged” – without “ideological blinders”
  • Fight for the big picture at VW: IG Metall and the works council are fighting against plant closures in Germany. But capital logic and permanent crisis are tough opponents
    “…There are currently four business premises in question that are threatened with closure or “reassignment”. Even works council leader Cavallo announced at the beginning of March that in an emergency, armaments could also be manufactured in the underutilized Osnabrück plant. "I am of the opinion that Germany and Europe must become more independent in the area of ​​defense," she said in an interview. This could be a perspective for Osnabrück.
    In addition to Osnabrück, closure rumors primarily revolve around the plants in Hanover, Zwickau and Emden. The Neckarsulm location of the VW subsidiary Audi is also mentioned as a possible candidate for rezoning, sale or closure. The trigger was a report in Manager Magazine from May 6th.…" From theArticle by Klaus Fischer in the young world from May 16, 2026 
  • Red lines unchanged: Daniela Cavallo, Christiane Benner and Thorsten Gröger on the current situation
    “The trio with the heads of the works council and IG Metall counteracts speculation about German locations.
    Wolfsburg/Hannover/Frankfurt – The top employee representatives at Volkswagen have jointly commented on the situation at the German VW locations. The reason is the ongoing speculation about thisallegedly planned closures for several factories and other, supposedly tightened savings plans by the board - including mind games about oneEntry of Chinese partners into the production capacities of German VW factories.
    In the joint statement, the trio, consisting of Christiane Benner, First Chairwoman of IG Metall, Daniela Cavallo, Chairwoman of the General and Group Works Council of Volkswagen AG, and Thorsten Gröger, District Manager of IG Metall Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt and negotiator of the VW company collective bargaining agreement, explains the following: “The collective bargaining parties at Volkswagen agreed on an extensive collective bargaining compromise at the end of 2024, as has been the case in the company for around As is well known, this agreement combines several core elements: On the one hand, there are far-reaching prospects for the workforce with future products at the German VW locations in conjunction with non-terminable job security until the end of 2030 and, on the other hand, relief in labor costs worth billions for the employers.
    The compromise demands a lot from both sides. It is associated with noticeable, albeit mostly temporary, financial cuts for colleagues. The employer side, on the other hand, had to completely refrain from the factory closures and mass layoffs that they had favored until the end of the negotiations. Since the agreement, progress has been made, particularly in terms of factory costs and job cuts, which far dwarfs the results of similar efficiency programs such as the Future Pact in 2016.
    At the same time, the December 2024 agreement preserves the unshakable Volkswagen DNA, according to which securing employment and profitability are equally important corporate goals, especially in times of severe crisis, to which the operating parties contribute equally. And of course this agreement cannot be questioned now. (…)
    With us as the general works council and IG Metall there will be no plant closures! Of course, all locations will remain intact. And if the business models no longer fully support this in the foreseeable future, new ones will have to be found. Even then it would be completely clear: new business opportunities in other industrial fields are out of the question for us in order to replace existing commitments from the 2024 agreement. At most, it could be about additions – as additional new pillars for our locations. If such fields open up – be it under the corporate umbrella or with external partners – the employee side will examine this with an open mind. Just like she always did. Examples such as the MAN/Scania integration, partial IPOs at Traton and Porsche or sales of individual parts of the company prove again and again that the works council and union at Volkswagen do not have ideological blinders. Our guidelines are always the same: good work, future prospects and secure employment for our colleagues. Anything that counts has our full support. We will continue to fight everything that goes against this with all our might in the future.”…”Report from May 15, 2026 from IGM at VW 
• Discontent at VW in Saxony: Volkswagen announces breach of collective agreement and is postponing the integration of the Saxon locations into the overall company
  • Saxon employees accuse VW Group of breach of contract
    “Integration of the Saxon locations into the overall company is to be postponed. Employees are “angry and unsettled.”
    On January 1, 2027, the German division should finally end at Volkswagen too. On this date, the three East German plants in Zwickau, Chemnitz and Dresden were to be integrated into the overall group. However, management has now announced that the process will take longer than planned. This is met with extreme incomprehension by employees and the union. “If that were to happen, it would be nothing less than a violation of the law,” says Jan Otto, district manager of IG Metall for Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony. The news “hit like a bomb,” adds Mario Albert, head of the works council at VW Zwickau. The consequences are “anger, disappointment and uncertainty”. (…)Since the beginning of this year, the approximately 10,000 VW employees in Saxony have been treated equally to their colleagues in the West in terms of salary and working hours. Twelve months later they would become part of the large Volkswagen AG. But now the company explained that the “necessary conversion of numerous systems at Volkswagen AG” had resulted in delays, so that “the process will take more time than originally planned.” Knabel calls this announcement “political explosives.” The works councils and union officials admit that the step has no immediate consequences for the employees, for example in financial terms. But they insist on the principle of collective bargaining: “Signed contracts must be adhered to,” says Otto.  (…)At the same time, there are media reports in the “Handelsblatt”, for example, in which there is again talk of overcapacity and rumors that two plants are “under pressure”. The Zwickau plant was once a pioneer in the switch to electromobility, but recently seemed to have become the loser in the transformation. In view of this, the mood among the remaining 8,000 employees is still “tense and sensitive,” says Knabel. The fact that integration into the group is now to be postponed increases concerns about the future: "The feeling of security has been somewhat destroyed for the moment."..." Article by Hendrik Lasch from May 5th, 2026 in ND online to:
  • Discontent at VW in Saxony: Volkswagen announces breach of collective agreement
    “The IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony, together with the employees, is calling on the Volkswagen Group to integrate the Saxon plants into the stock corporation as agreed on January 1, 2027 and thus to put them legally on an equal footing with the other German locations. IG Metall district manager Jan Otto: "On January 1st, the special role of the Saxon VW plants in the group must end. Volkswagen has guaranteed this in a collective agreement. We will not accept a breach of collective agreements…”Press release from May 4, 2026 from the IG Metall district of Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony 
• Speech by Lars Hirsekorn on March 3rd, 2026 at the VW Braunschweig works meeting: Fighting back the attacks of capital 
  “Dear colleagues, last Friday a friend posted “Stop the world, I feel sick, I want to get out”. I can't tell you how much he spoke from my heart. In the last few months, hardly a day went by when I didn't feel sick. No matter how the world crawled into my brain, the pressure on my skull became ever stronger. I am a worker with statutory health, nursing care and pension insurance. I work part-time because I have enough money to live on and yes, I'm already looking forward to retirement. In other words, I am lazy, sick too often and a disgusting egotist who is unwilling to sacrifice my life for the interests of shareholders.
  The millionaires of the world and their politicians have been shouting this into orbit every day for weeks and are hoping for an echo. The profit distribution of the DAX companies increased from around 10 billion in 2003 and 2004 to around 52 billion in 2023 and 2024.
  Colleagues, we are really talking about unbelievable sums of money here. Profits have increased fivefold within 20 years. But it's not enough for them (…)
  No matter whether at Volkswagen, Ford, Tesla or BYD. Bosses all over the world have understood that they only get more if they take something away from us or make us work longer. The question is when we will understand this. (…)
  Work three shifts up to 70? With respect,