Christiane Benner, the chairperson of IG Metall, has leveled severe criticisms against car industry management, pointing to significant failures as the sector navigates a major crisis. Speaking to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, Benner asserted that management had often been too self-satisfied. The union leader stressed that managers need to take responsibility for shaping the industry’s future, emphasizing that the goal is the preservation of the industry itself, as well as of jobs across manufacturers, suppliers, and development service providers.
To push for change, IG Metall is mobilizing its members nationwide on Monday for a “Car Industry Action Day.” The union is demanding that corporations increase their investment in forward-looking business ventures and is calling on politicians, among other things, to broaden protective tariffs against Chinese imports. According to Benner, Europe is facing brutal dumping competition from China and cannot overcome the crisis without robust political support.
Benner is scheduled to speak at a rally at the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg on Monday, where the threat of closing four German facilities persists. She told the RND that there has been continuous uncertainty at Volkswagen for the past two years. “People made sacrifices with the promise of receiving security. That promise was broken. As a result, the mood is highly charged; there is great anger.”
