Representatives from Volkswagen, the IG Metall union, and the works council are scheduled to meet in Hannover on September 30th for a review of the 2024 future collective agreement. This information, according to reports from the “Handelsblatt” quoting sources close to the negotiations, indicates that the focus of the discussion will be the commitments made for the Emden, Zwickau, and Hannover plants-workplaces where VW currently cannot guarantee continued staffing. While VW, IG Metall, and the works council declined to comment on the appointment, the meeting is a direct result of recent actions. In mid-September, IG Metall and the works council invoked the contract’s revision clause, successfully forcing the meeting after the company management, led by VW Group CEO Oliver Blume, presented an even more stringent cost-cutting plan. This new plan includes reducing excess capacity across Europe and potentially eliminating up to another 60,000 jobs. Furthermore, the company had already agreed with employees earlier in 2024 to implement a job reduction of 50,000 positions, 35,000 of which were within the German Volkswagen AG.
Economy / Finance
