Volkswagen AG management met with representatives of IG Metall and the company’s works council on September 30 in Hanover to discuss major cost-cutting and restructuring plans. The plans could involve tens of thousands of job cuts and the potential closure of four German plants.
The meeting followed IG Metall’s invocation of a special clause in its labor agreement. The union cited concerns that the proposed overhaul could breach previous commitments on job security and investment.
The talks mark a key step in negotiations over Volkswagen’s future. IG Metall is seeking to protect jobs and ensure the company honors a 2024 labor deal that guaranteed employment through the end of 2030 in exchange for an initial round of layoffs.
Volkswagen’s supervisory board has broadly approved the new cost-saving measures, but details remain under negotiation with labor representatives. No official statement on the meeting’s outcome had been released immediately afterward.