The VW Osnabrück location was actually supposed to close in 2027 as part of the VW savings plan. The state of Lower Saxony is now taking over this together with the Israeli financial investor Aurelius and wants to produce weapons there in the future. Instead of opposing this militarization, the IG Metall union is celebrating this as a success, as only 25 percent of the workforce will now be laid off. – A comment from Thomas Mercy.

It's been around for a few weeks nowConversationand now it has actually happened: The VW plant in Osnabrück, one of four plants that should have been closed as part of the VW savings plan, is owned by the state of Lower Saxony and the Israeli arms investor Aurelius Capitaltaken over. The company is taking over the majority of Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH, while the state of Lower Saxony retains its previous share of 12% and joins as a minority shareholder.

This takeover also brings with it a change in production. In order to keep the location profitable, weapons will not be produced in Osnabrück in the future. There is already a first anchor project for this armaments production.

VW factory in Osnabrück: Lower Saxony wants to enable Israeli weapons production

In cooperation with the Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the producer of the “Iron Dome” missile defense system, components for exactly this will be manufactured in Osnabrück in the future. Possible production of these components for Germany or Europe is also underwayConversation.

However, the arms company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems also produces rockets and cruise missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, remote-controlled weapon stations (machine gun/cannon turrets) for vehicles and mine clearing systems for armored vehicles. It is also not the stated goal that Iron Dome will continue to rely on supplier parts in the long term: bothVWas well asRaphaelIn their communications, they explicitly mention further planned partnerships and projects at the location.

IG Metall speaks of a milestone

The IG Metall union, which negotiated with VW about the closure of the site, is shown in oneExplanationvery pleased with this change. She speaks of a “milestone” and a “further development”. What is particularly positive is that instead of laying off all 1,800 employees in the event of a factory closure as a result of the takeover, only around a quarter of the employees will be laid off. In addition, the agreements guaranteed job security until the end of 2029 and, according to IG Metall, work is being done on prospects for the remaining employees.

The switch to weapons production is viewed as a further development into a “competence center for security and defense solutions”. First chairwoman of IG Metall and deputy chairwoman of the supervisory board of Volkswagen AG, Christiane Benner, said: "The workforce in Osnabrück has proven time and again that they can change and take responsibility for the future of the location. [...] A new industrial perspective for Osnabrück and the region means, above all, security for the employees and their families."

Job security over international solidarity?

IG Metall makes it clear where it stands and, above all, what its priorities are: In the interests of “employment security,” it doesn’t care that the workers at the VW factory in Osnabrück will produce weapons that could be used in wars in the future. In fact, the takeover of the plant by a weapons manufacturer is even seen as a success.

This shows a fundamental contradiction that occurs when unions do not act politically but concentrate purely on the economic side. There is talk of “security for the workers and their families,” but what about the safety of the workers and their families in Gaza, Kurdistan or Sudan who are being murdered by German weapons?

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Instead, IG Metall sells the workers in Osnabrück that they have a common interest with the companies - namely the maintenance and prosperity of the location. It's true that when companies do poorly, workers are laid off. But when companies are doing well, workers don't see any of it.

As workers, we should not allow ourselves to be deceived by this logic: If profits fail to materialize, companies threaten to close locations or relocate - and sometimes push for zero rounds in collective bargaining, as happened during the Corona pandemic. In the end, the costs of the crisis will be borne by the workers.

Osnabrück shows something fundamental: In case of doubt, companies don't care what is produced as long as the balance sheet is correct - whether cars or, as now, armaments technology for a company that, in addition to Iron Dome, also produces anti-tank weapons and cruise missiles. But this shouldn't matter to the workers themselves: Anyone who produces components for defense companies like Rafael Advanced Defense System in Osnabrück in the future is contributing to wars. A union that takes the interests of workers seriously should not subordinate this issue to job security alone.

The postIG Metall celebrates the takeover of the VW factory in Osnabrück by an Israeli arms manufacturerappeared firstperspective.