Christiane Benner, the IG-Metall Chair and Vice Chair of the VW Supervisory Board, offered a measured response when asked about her level of trust in VW CEO Oliver Blume-the man with whom she heavily negotiated the recent compromise on the “Future Plan 2030.” Speaking to the TV channel ntv, she stated that trust “must be restored.”
Benner’s comments signify a noticeable departure from her prior confrontational stance. Prior to the recent Supervisory Board meeting, she had categorically rejected the idea of facility closures, declaring, “Plant closures are not acceptable to us,” and had criticized Blume for serious shortcomings in how he managed the workforce. Now, Benner clarified that she could not guarantee the retention of all sites and jobs beyond 2030, admitting that “Nowadays, almost everything is possible.”
In a new revelation, Benner specified the timeline involved: the employee union has spent “almost a year” during talks with the Supervisory Board working on alternative concepts for facility utilization, complementing existing job security provisions established in the collective bargaining agreement at the end of 2024.
Meanwhile, Benner dismissed circulating media reports suggesting that the Supervisory Board had already decided on the closure of four plants or concrete job reductions, calling such information false. According to her, the Board had only ratified cost savings derived from synergies between the various brands; the issues of facility closures and job cuts were merely topics that the Supervisory Board took note of.
