Reports of plans by carmaker Volkswagen to shutter at least three plants in Germany were met with outrage from the IG Metall trade union, which represents much of the company’s workforce.
“This is a deep stab in the heart of the hard-working VW workforce,” said IG Metall District Manager Thorsten Gröger.
“We expect Volkswagen and its board of management to outline viable concepts for the future at the negotiating table, instead of fantasies of cutbacks, where the employer side has so far presented little more than empty phrases.”
The union is currently locked in difficult talks with VW over a new collective bargaining deal for workers at the iconic German auto brand. VW has rejected trade union demands for pay increases, and is reportedly now seeking across-the-board pay cuts instead.
In September, VW terminated a long-standing job-security deal with workers that for more than three decades had ruled out layoffs.
“These rabid plans by the board of management are in no way acceptable and a break with everything we have experienced in the company in recent decades,” Gröger said on Monday.
