VW considers closing up to three factories in Germany

“This is not just sabre-rattling as a tactic in the current round of in-house wage negotiations – the Management Board really wants all of this and believes there is no alternative,” a leaflet distributed to employees read. The statements were also made at an information event organised by the works council. The cuts Cavallo is referring to were recently presented to the General Works Council.

According to the head of the works council, “all German VW plants are affected by the plans.” If the plant is not closed, there will probably be other cuts. “None are safe!” says Cavallo.

There is no confirmation from VW for these statements, a spokesperson did not want to comment on the alleged measures in detail. “The company’s proposals and plans will first be presented internally to the negotiating partners and then discussed,” a spokesperson told Automobilwoche. VW is “at a decisive point in its corporate history.” “The situation is serious and the responsibility of the negotiating partners is enormous,” the spokesperson continued.

eMobility production would be affected

The figure of three plants is indeed surprising. In September, the Board of Management counted German plants for the first time and calculated that sales of 500,000 vehicles would not be enough to fully utilise the factories. This corresponds to the production of two plants, said VW CFO Arno Antlitz at a Works Council meeting at the time. Now there are already three locations in question.

While it was previously assumed that smaller sites in particular, such as the Transparent Factory in Dresden and the former Karmann plant in Osnabrück, were on the brink (Osnabrück is currently without a model commitment from 2026), a larger site would also be up for discussion with three plants. It is not known which one. However, it is clear that this would also affect eMobility production. The main plant in Wolfsburg will probably not be closed. This means that the Emden plants (ID.4 and ID.7, purely electric car plant from 2025), the VWN factory in Hanover (ID. Buzz, among others) and the MEB plant in Zwickau (ID.3, ID.4, ID.5, Cupra Born and Audi Q4 e-tron) will remain. The component plants (Braunschweig, Salzgitter, Kassel and Chemnitz) also supply eMobility components.

However, the Works Council also warns that jobs outside of production are also at risk. The company management wants to “relocate entire departments and areas abroad or outsource them,” they say. This is said to range from semi-skilled workers to academically qualified employees. According to employee representatives, those who keep their jobs are threatened with a loss in pay of “around 20 per cent.” The Handelsblatt had previously reported on the threat of pay cuts of ten per cent, and ‘bonus payments in the highest pay scale group ‘Tarif Plus’ are also likely to be affected, as are bonus payments for employee anniversaries’. Internally, these measures are said to have been compiled on a ‘poison list’. In addition to the across-the-board pay cut, zero rounds for 2025 and 2026 are also said to be on the list.

There is talk of a ‘week of truth’ for Volkswagen. On Wednesday, the Group will not only present its business figures for the third quarter, which are likely to be rather modest following the profit warning a few weeks ago. On the same day, negotiations with IG Metall in the next round of collective bargaining will also begin. While management is probably preparing the list of factories to be closed, the trade unionists are demanding a seven per cent wage increase for employees and more money for trainees. The Handelsblatt summarises the situation: “It is unlikely that an agreement will be reached quickly.”

spiegel.de, automobilwoche.de, handelsblatt.com (all in German)