Volkswagen Strikes Halt Production
Workers at nine Volkswagen car and parts plants in Germany launched several-hour strikes on Monday, severely affecting production. The strikes come at a time when tensions between labor and management are growing over the future of the automaker’s operations in Germany. Thousands of workers gathered at Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, and other factories in Hanover, Emden, Salzgitter and Brunswick also saw heavy demonstrations.
'THE LENGTH OF THE STRIKE IS VOLKSWAGEN'S RESPONSIBILITY'
A two-hour strike at Volkswagen’s main factory has severely affected production lines, preventing hundreds of cars, including the iconic Golf, from being produced. Union sources have warned that the strikes could escalate into more widespread action in the future. “How long and how intense this strike should be is Volkswagen’s responsibility at the negotiating table,” said Thorsten Groeger, who is leading the negotiations on behalf of the IG Metall union, urging the company to act more responsibly.
10 PERCENT WAGE CUT FOR WORKERS
Volkswagen stated that it respects the workers’ right to strike and announced that it has taken various measures to maintain the supply chain and minimize the effects of the strike. However, Volkswagen, which rejected the union’s proposal last week to waive savings measures and bonuses, offered workers a 10 percent pay cut in order to reduce costs and increase profits. It was noted that the company threatened to close its factories in Germany as the strikes continued. It is expected that the strikes will deepen further with the cost cuts implemented by Volkswagen in order to protect its market share and increase its competitiveness.
Strike calls have been made for electric vehicle manufacturing facilities, particularly the Zwickau factory of Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH, while labor unions have emphasized that they will continue their resistance to the proposals, which do not offer a long-term plan. It was reported that new labor contract negotiations will continue on December 9.
