STORY: Volkswagen held a tense staff meeting Wednesday.
It was delayed for several minutes when its finance chief took to the stage to boos and shouts of “goodbye.”
Finance chief Arno Antlitz argued the automaker has one, maybe two years left to turn its main car brand around.
He appealed to the joint responsibility of staff and management to cut spending if the brand is to survive the shift to electric vehicles.
The auto giant is considering its first-ever plant closures in Germany, but its powerful union has threatened to fight back.
Two workers at VW’s plant in Kassel, Germany spoke of their concerns.
“Everyone is worried about his job but I can’t say anything more about it right now because nothing is official. But everyone is worried. It would be unusual if not.”
“The situation is definitely tense. No one knows where this journey will take us to and as a contract worker, we will probably be the first who will have to leave. Our contracts run until January 31. It will be difficult to find an adequate job with this kind of salary which secures our existence.”
Antlitz said Europe’s car market shrank after the pandemic.
He further argued the company faced a shortfall in demand of around 500,000 cars, the equivalent of about two plants.
Antlitz added he did not expect sales to recover and the core VW brand needed to cut spending and adjust output.
But works council chief Daniela Cavallo said management had “massively damaged trust.”
One union representative also said there would be no talks unless Volkswagen took plant closures off the table.
VW said Monday (September 2) it was considering closing factories in Germany and ending a job guarantee at six of its facilities.
It’s part of a drive to deepen an $11 billion cost-cutting plan.
Management has blamed financial pressures on a worsening German economy and new competitors.
But unions said the carmaker’s production strategy was inefficient and decision-makers had been too slow in investing to produce a mass-market electric vehicle.
VW’s issues reflect challenges for Europe’s car giants, including Stellantis and Renault.
They face high labor and energy costs, and rising competition from lower-priced Asian rivals.
Source Agencies
