Volkswagen is under unprecedented pressure to overhaul the business model that carried the group’s growth for decades. The company’s proposal to slash tens of thousands more jobs and close factories faces a major test as the groups that control Europe’s largest carmaker meet to discuss the plans.
Job Cuts and Factory Closures
Volkswagen’s supervisory board meeting at the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, will consider the closure of four German plants — Hanover, Emden, Zwickau, and Audi’s Neckarsulm site — as well as 100,000 job cuts, double the current number.
CEO Oliver Blume must convince the committee’s powerful labour faction to accept deeper cuts across the group, which includes the Audi and Porsche brands. The company is battling Chinese competition and tariffs on car imports into the United States, leading to high costs and excess plant capacity at home.
Germany’s top industrial union IG Metall is rallying workers at around 20 Volkswagen Group sites across the country to protest against the plans and call on management to safeguard German production.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
