Volkswagen’s worker agents state they have actually reached a wage offer
ByDAVID MCHUGH AP company author
December 20, 2024, 1:09 PM
FRANKFURT, Germany– Volkswagen and its worker agents stated Friday they have actually reached a wage offer for 120,000 German employees that prevents plant closings and bars uncontrolled layoffs through 2030. The arrangement consists of arrangements for VW to shed more than 35,000 tasks through early retirement and buyouts by 2030.
The offer, reached in dragged out bargaining sessions that extended late into the night, is targeted at making it possible for the Wolfsburg-based carmaker to handle a drop in need in Europe, greater raw-material expenses and increasing competitors from Chinese car manufacturers.
Lagging sales in Europe suggest the business has actually lost prospective sales of 500,000 vehicles a year, or the output of 2 factories.
The offer would conserve VW 1.5 billion euros ($1.56 billion) a year in labor expenses and 4 billion euros a year by slashing production capability by more 700,000 cars throughout its German plants through various production plans.
That the contract prevents wholesale plant closings highlights the function dipped into Volkswagen by worker agents and the state of Lower Saxony, who together have bulk on the board of directors. That provides employees and the city government uncommon utilize.
A leading Volkswagen executive called it “an excellent contract.”
“We had 3 top priorities in the settlements: lowering overcapacity in German places, minimizing labor expenses and bringing advancement expenses down to a competitive level,” stated Thomas Schaefer, head of the business’s name Volkswagen brand name.
“We reached sustainable services in all 3 locations.”
Thorsten Groeger, mediator for the IG Metall union, stated staff members likewise accepted “unpleasant concessions.” A union declaration stated that the loss of reward payments and other payment became part of the offer however that month-to-month wage levels would not be touched. The business had actually pushed for a 10% wage cut.
Volkswagen argues that it needs to decrease expenses in Germany to levels attained by rivals and by Volkswagen plants in eastern Europe and South America.
Significant plant closings were prevented, a factory in Dresden will stop production at the end of next year as previous prepared, and a plant in Osnabrueck is to produce T-Roc SUVs just through the middle of 2027. After those dates, the business will look for other usages for Osnabrueck. Leading Volkswagen staff member agent Daniela Cavallo stated the Dresden plant might be repurposed “likewise in cooperation with other companies” that she didn’t define.
The business stated it would move production of its Golf design from its home plant at Wolfsburg to Puebla, Mexico, and lower the assembly lines at Wolfsburg from 4 to 2 that would produce the ID.3 and CUPRA Born compact automobiles. Some 4,000 automobile advancement tasks would be dropped at Wolfsburg.
