Volkswagen set to close three German plants and cut thousands of jobs

Further negotiations are planned between Volkswagen and union leaders on Wednesday.

Transcript

00:00Many Volkswagen employees gathered in front of the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg,

00:05Germany, as they are not happy with recent decisions taken by the car manufacturer.

00:10According to the General Works Council, Volkswagen is planning to close at least three plants

00:15in the country and cut tens of thousands of jobs in the process.

00:19This is of course disturbing for many people, because it is elementary to question the future

00:26and how it will continue.

00:28Those that will keep their job might see cuts up to 18% in their salary.

00:32However, negotiations are continuing between the group and the IG Metal trade union.

00:43The management is demanding a permanent 10% reduction in monthly pay and two zero rounds

00:48in 2025 and 2026, meaning employees would not receive any raises or cost of living adjustments

00:55during those two years.

00:57Meanwhile, IG Metal is demanding a 7% wage increase for the employees.

01:02Volkswagen had already announced drastic costs and job cuts at the beginning of September,

01:07as the job security and the company wage agreements were terminated.

01:20Volkswagen is justifying the tightened austerity measures by stating that car sales in Europe

01:25had fallen significantly and the company is selling 2 million cars below the pre-corona level.

01:30The second round of negotiations will take place on Wednesday.