Against the backdrop of the current crisis in the automotive industry and specifically concerning Volkswagen, the Left Party has called for targeted multi-billion euro government aid. The party’s co-fractional chairwoman, Heidi Reichinnek, stated to “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that the pending industrial transformation must not be borne by the employees. She added, “That is why we demand a transformation fund of at least 20 billion euros annually to finance the conversion of threatened car factories.” This proposal is part of an industrial policy paper drafted by the leadership of The Left ahead of a party conference set to take place in Dessau this Thursday and Friday.
While The Left has not specified the precise funding mechanism for the transformation fund, it highlighted that VW alone distributed nearly 30 billion euros to its shareholders over the last five years, while simultaneously aiming to more than double its operating profit margin by 2030.
The party has long advocated for a “safety net for employees.” The regional leadership in Saxony-Anhalt recently issued a separate position paper calling for a publicly funded federal industry foundation, tasked with strategically acquiring shares in corporations. Sören Pellmann, co-fractional chair of The Left in the Bundestag, told the RND that “Eastern Germany must not be sacrificed once again for the profits of large corporations.” He strongly asserted that workers in places like Zwickau, who successfully converted an entire factory to electric mobility, “should not pay for the dividends of the VW boardrooms.”
In their policy document, The Left also demands greater participation rights for workers. They seek changes, including amendments to the works council law, to grant works councils an “enforceable right of co-determination and initiative.” Furthermore, the party introduced a new demand: a protective period during factory closures or impending staff reductions, during which terminations and machine decommissioning would be prohibited. This measure is designed to provide sufficient time to find alternative solutions.
