Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil expects that no Volkswagen plants will be closed. Alternatives must be discussed beforehand, the SPD politician told broadcaster NDR Info. This should now happen in confidential talks. The state of Lower Saxony is a major shareholder, and Prime Minister Weil sits on the company’s supervisory board.
VW announced on Monday that it would have to make major savings at its core brand. The previously planned job cuts through partial retirement and severance payments were no longer sufficient to achieve the targeted savings targets. Plant closures and redundancies at the core VW brand were no longer ruled out, announced Europe’s largest carmaker. The agreement concluded with the works council on job security would be terminated. This excluded redundancies until 2029. Employee representatives and the union were appalled.
Because: “VW must remain competitive”
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister stressed that the company must be competitive. To do this, VW must now do its homework. What exactly that will look like must now be clarified. The uncertainty among the workforce must be eliminated as quickly as possible, Weil told the radio station. He did not know whether management already had concrete plans for closing individual plants.
The reasons for the crisis are not only external, said Weil. The automobile industry in Europe is currently in decline and there are new competitors from Chinese car manufacturers. But VW, for example, has also not achieved its own goals in software development. This has an impact on the introduction of new vehicle models. It is now necessary to ensure that Volkswagen is better positioned in every respect.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240905-930-223587/1
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