Negotiations between Volkswagen management and the unions in Germany continue, without clear progress. Both parties are currently on track new day of negotiations on proposed layoffs and factory closureswith the pressure to reach an agreement before Christmas. In fact, if sufficient progress is not made on a deal by Wednesday morning, the IG Metall union board is set to hold a vote later this week that would pave the way for 24-hour walkouts in VW factories starting next January.
According to the specialized media Bloomberg, the CEO of the VW brand, Thomas Schäfer, and the head of labor relations, Gunnar Kilian, both present at Monday’s talks in Hannover, are prepared to inform the group’s board of directors that the possibility of an imminent agreement is low. The same information adds that Tuesday’s negotiations will continue until late into the night.
The same sources explain that the complexity of the talks has made reaching a pre-agreement before Christmas difficult. a very optimistic milestone. Well, plans to restructure the VW brand are converging with salary negotiations and the Volkswagen group’s usual five-year planning, which involves assigning model production to the automaker’s factory network.
The rope is tightened in the factories
Tension between workers grows as negotiations continue without finding common ground. Already on two occasions this month, tens of thousands of group workers left their jobs in protest of the management’s plan to close at least three factories in the country and lay off thousands of workers in order to increase its competitiveness in the difficult environment that encompasses the European automobile. Earlier this month, nearly 100,000 workers walked off the job after management rejected a union proposal that included reducing dividend payments and cutting some bonuses.
However, despite the wave of strikes and protests, the management of the German automaker maintains support for its cut plan before the start of collective bargaining. “We still need cost reductions that can be implemented in the short term and are sustainable,” recently said the group’s chief management negotiator, Arne Meiswinkel, who oversees the brand’s human resources. “This is the only way we can remain competitive in a challenging environment.”