FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen workers launched rolling two-hour strikes Monday at nine plants across Germany to underscore their resistance to pay cuts and factory closures the company says are necessary to cope with a slack European auto market.
The work stoppages included the company's base plant at Wolfsburg, where workers rallied against a cost-cutting drive by the automaker’s management in which they face the threat of the company’s first plant closures in its home country.
Click to Gallery
Volkswagen workers gather for a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, at the Zwickau plant, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. Sign at top reads in German ""Tradition meets future". (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers attend at a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Thorsten Gröger, District Manager of IG Metall union, speaks at a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Daniela Cavallo, Chairwoman of the Volkswagen General Works Council, speaks at a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Volkswagen workers are seen through a window as they attend at a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Volkswagen workers demonstrate on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, outside a Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Volkswagen employees take part in a demonstration during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, in Hanover, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers attend a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
A Volkswagen worker blows a whistle on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, outside a Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers attend a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Volkswagen workers wave trade union flags as they demonstrate on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, outside a Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
A sign for the Volkswagen plant stands in Emden, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Sina Schuldt/dpa via AP)
The Volkswagen logo is seen at the company's plant in Emden, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Sina Schuldt/dpa via AP)
An IG Metall trade union flag flies at the gate of a Volkswagen plant on the first day of a nationwide Volkswagen workers' strike, in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
An IG Metall trade union flag flies at the gate of a Volkswagen plant on the first day of a nationwide Volkswagen workers' strike, in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers march holding a sign with writing reading in German "Warning strike is our right" on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers march holding a sign with writing reading in German "Ready to Strike!" on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen argues that it must lower costs in Germany to levels achieved by competitors and by Volkswagen plants in eastern Europe and South America. Chief employee representative Daniela Cavallo has said employees should not shoulder the burden of management failures to develop attractive products and come up with a cheaper, entry-level electric vehicle.
“We demand that all make their contribution – management and the shareholder side as well,” Cavallo said at the rally in Wolfsburg as employees drummed, whistled and clapped.
She said the next round of talks in a week’s time “is likely to set the course – rapprochement or escalation. We are ready for both.”
The so-called warning strikes, a common tactic in German wage negotiations, are taking place as part of talks for a new labor agreement after a mandatory peace period that bars strikes expired on Sunday. The IG Metall industrial union said any job actions beyond those occurring on Monday would be announced later.
The company is demanding a 10% pay cut for 120,000 German workers and has said it can't avoid shedding factory capacity that is no longer needed. Employee representatives say the company has proposed closing three of its German plants.
Thorsten Gröger, the regional leader of the IG Metall industrial union in Lower Saxony, where Volkswagen is headquartered, said that the company won’t be able to “overlook” the walkouts. “If necessary, this will be one of the toughest conflicts Volkswagen has ever seen.”
The company hasn't publicly detailed its plans but is facing a drop in demand in Europe, higher costs and increasing competition from Chinese automakers. Volkswagen built factories to supply a European car market of 16 million in annual vehicle sales, but now faces demand for around 14 million, Volkswagen brand head Thomas Schaefer was quoted as saying in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. Since Volkswagen has a quarter of the market, that represents a loss of 500,000 cars a year.
For years, strong profits in China helped cover higher costs but the changing environment now means that “it's high time to address this,” Schaefer said.
The walkouts began at a plant in Zwickau in eastern Germany and were to continue at plants in Braunschweig, Chemnitz, Dresden, Emden, Hanover, Kassel, and Salzgitter.
The next negotiations are slated for Dec. 9.
Volkswagen workers gather for a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, at the Zwickau plant, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. Sign at top reads in German ""Tradition meets future". (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers attend at a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Thorsten Gröger, District Manager of IG Metall union, speaks at a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Daniela Cavallo, Chairwoman of the Volkswagen General Works Council, speaks at a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Volkswagen workers are seen through a window as they attend at a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Volkswagen workers demonstrate on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, outside a Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Volkswagen employees take part in a demonstration during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, in Hanover, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers attend a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
A Volkswagen worker blows a whistle on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, outside a Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers attend a rally during at nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, on the grounds of the main Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)
Volkswagen workers wave trade union flags as they demonstrate on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, outside a Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
A sign for the Volkswagen plant stands in Emden, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Sina Schuldt/dpa via AP)
The Volkswagen logo is seen at the company's plant in Emden, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Sina Schuldt/dpa via AP)
An IG Metall trade union flag flies at the gate of a Volkswagen plant on the first day of a nationwide Volkswagen workers' strike, in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
An IG Metall trade union flag flies at the gate of a Volkswagen plant on the first day of a nationwide Volkswagen workers' strike, in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers march holding a sign with writing reading in German "Warning strike is our right" on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Volkswagen workers march holding a sign with writing reading in German "Ready to Strike!" on the first day of a nationwide warning Volkswagen workers' strike, in Zwickau, Germany, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
