Germany's largest union, which sits on Volkswagen's supervisory board, said on Thursday it would do everything possible to find alternatives to the carmaker's threats to close factories, with a four-day workweek among the options.
Let us recall that on Monday, Volkswagen's management board met with trade union representatives, during which the management informed employees that it was considering closing two plants in Germany. This would be the first move in history. It involves one large car manufacturing plant and smaller parts manufacturing plants. These centers are to be outdated.
Volkswagen, which employs around 680,000 workers, said it was forced to end its job security programme, which has been in place since 1994 and prevents layoffs until 2029, adding that all steps would be discussed with the works council.
For more information, please visit: This could be a historic decision. Automotive leader considers closing factories in homeland
Trade unionists want to save jobs
Thorsten Groeger, head of the IG Metall union in Lower Saxony, where Volkswagen is headquartered, said the job security agreement introduced in 1994 was designed specifically to help the carmaker survive difficult situations and should not be abandoned in difficult times.
At the same time, Christiane Benner, chairwoman of the national section of IG Metall, said that it was not possible to present detailed proposals without additional information on the solutions proposed by the company.
– We need forward-looking ideas on where to find potential. Volkswagen has dealt with difficult situations before – she said. According to Reuters, among the proposed changes is the introduction of a four-day work week. However, it is not known on what terms.