Volkswagen faces mass layoffs and factory closures because it is necessary. That's what the brand's CEO Thomas Schäfer says.
The employees and their unions want to keep everyone in their jobs. But mass layoffs and factory closures are necessary.
Volkswagen's CEO, Thomas Schäfer, now confirms this in an interview with Welt am Sonntag .
Asked directly if the director envisions that Volkswagen can find a solution that protects all of the brand's factories, the answer is very short:
– We don't see that at the moment.
– We need to reduce our capacity and adapt to the new realities, says the director.
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Factory closings are one thing. Another thing is layoffs. And Schäfer does not want to rule that out either. It is far from certain that Volkswagen can find something to do for the employees if the workplace is about to disappear. Right now, Volkswagen is planning to close three of its factories in Germany.
According to the director, early retirements and voluntary resignations will not be enough to save Volkswagen's economy, the director believes.
However, he can see the reasonableness of the management and VW's board also going down in salary. The trade union IG Metall, which organizes many of the factory employees at Volkswagen, has demanded this.
Specifically, the fixed salary of the board members has shrunk by five percent. Just as management has waived a so-called inflation compensation of 1,000 euros in their wage agreements. They also do not get a wage increase of 3.5 percent, as was otherwise agreed.
The third round of negotiations between Volkswagen and a group of unions began on Thursday morning last week. Several thousand employees have already chosen to protest loudly over the prospect of lower wages, fewer colleagues and factory closures.
