VDA President Müller Calls for Sweeping Reforms in the Auto Industry – VW Supervisory Board to Discuss Possible Plant Closures

In the VDA's view, the necessary measures include cost discipline, leider auch notwendige Personalanpassungen und tiefgreifende Reformen der Geschäftsmodelle. Dazu gehören Kostendisziplin, leider auch notwendige Personalanpassungen und tiefgreifende Reformen der Geschäftsmodelle. Die Branche stehe vor der Aufgabe, ihre Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und ihr Geschäftsmodell konsequent zu sichern und neu zu gestalten. Sie stehen vor der Aufgabe, ihre Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und ihr Geschäftsmodell konsequent zu sichern und neu zu gestalten.

Specifically, Müller warned that the plants at manufacturers and suppliers cannot be maintained as they are currently organized. „Die Werke bei Herstellern und Zulieferern werden wir so nicht halten können“, sagte sie. To deny this need for action, in whole or in part, and to fail to acknowledge the clear factual basis is not an option. „Es ist kurzsichtig und wegen seiner Konsequenzen unsozial." The decisions are difficult and must be shaped in dialogue with all stakeholders.

Concrete Proposals: Open Plants to Foreign Manufacturers

Müller also called for better location conditions in Germany. „Wir müssen die Standorte hier auch für ausländische Hersteller öffnen. Mit jedem Werk, das wir hier halten können, halten wir Arbeitsplätze", sagte sie. Everything that creates growth must be a priority – whether with regard to social contributions, taxes, energy prices, bureaucratic burdens, or also flexibilities in the labor market. The VDA spoke out in this context in favor of „einschneidende Reformen" to enable the industry to return to a growth course.

At the center of the debate is the Volkswagen Group. According to information from Manager Magazin, Volkswagen intends to significantly tighten its cost-cutting course and cut up to 100,000 positions worldwide – twice as many as previously planned. In addition, four plants in Germany could be closed in the medium term. Medienberichten zufolge plant Volkswagen, bis zu 100.000 Arbeitsplätze abzubauen. Zudem könnten vier Werke in Deutschland mittelfristig geschlossen werden. The Group has not officially confirmed the figures to date.

Up to 100,000 Positions Worldwide Affected

Which locations would specifically be affected has not yet been conclusively determined. According to reports, the four VW sites of Hanover, Emden, Zwickau, and Neckarsulm are under discussion. At the Neckarsulm site (Heilbronn district), the Audi plant with around 15,500 employees is, according to its own figures, one of the Group's central production facilities. Vier Werke stehen zur Debatte, darunter das Audi-Werk in Neckarsulm (Kreis Heilbronn). Denn das sind in dem Werk immerhin rund 15.500 Männer und Frauen. At the Dresden plant, vehicle production recently ceased according to its own statements.

Volkswagen had already previously announced that it would cut 50,000 positions Group-wide in Germany by 2030. At the core VW brand alone, 35,000 positions are to be eliminated according to the available plans, with the remainder at subsidiaries such as Audi and Porsche. More than 37,000 employees have already signed corresponding agreements on the job-cut plans.

On Thursday, Group management intends to present its plans to the supervisory board. The meeting in Wolfsburg is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. VW-Chef Oliver Blume will an diesem Donnerstag seine Sparpläne präsentieren. VW itself remains tight-lipped when asked about the content of the meeting. Already on Wednesday, the Audi supervisory board came together at the company headquarters in Ingolstadt, according to SWR information to prepare for the major VW meeting a day later in Wolfsburg. Das Thema der Sitzung ist laut SWR-Informationen: Die Vorbereitung auf wiederum das große Treffen in Wolfsburg einen Tag später am Donnerstag. The appointment was planned on a completely regular basis.

Speculation About Chinese Manufacturers Rejected

Speculation that VW could sell entire sites to Chinese manufacturers was rejected by Blume. „Es gebe aktuell keine Überlegungen und Gespräche mit chinesischen Herstellern", sagte er. At the same time, he announced that VW will examine whether there are sales opportunities in Europe for the models offered in China. „Wir werden prüfen, ob es in Europa Absatzmöglichkeiten für unsere chinesischen Autos gibt", sagte Blume Ende April bei der Vorstellung von Quartalszahlen. The models are, according to its own statements, in-house developments for the Chinese market.

For the Osnabrück site, where, according to Volkswagen, cabriolet production will end next year, talks on a solution are being held according to its own statements; defense companies are also reportedly being discussed as possible partners. Lower Saxony's Minister-President Olaf Lies and Saxony's Economics Minister Dirk Panter (both SPD) had previously advocated manufacturing Chinese models also in Europe in order to utilize domestic sites.

IG Metall Announces Day of Action

The IG Metall union responded with a nationwide day of action at all Volkswagen Group sites in Germany. An allen Standorten sind für Donnerstag Protestveranstaltungen des Betriebsrats und der Gewerkschaft IG Metall angekündigt. Rallies are planned at several VW sites and a motorcade action at Porsche in Stuttgart. IG-Metall-Chefin Benner said the employees had done their part. Anstatt die Versäumnisse der letzten Jahre auf dem Rücken der Belegschaft abzuladen, sollte sich die Konzernleitung um eine bessere Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Marken kümmern.

IG Metall Heilbronn-Neckarsulm announced that there would not be a warning strike, as the parties are in a peace obligation under the current collective agreement. Es wird keinen Warnstreik, heißt es von der IG Metall Heilbronn-Neckarsulm. Denn laut dem aktuellen Tarifvertrag befindet man sich momentan in der Friedenspflicht. In this context, the workforce recalls the rescue of the plant in 1975, when production of the Porsche 924 secured the site's future. Auch damals stand das Werk auf der Kippe. Die Rettung kam in Form des Porsche 924, der sorgte für Auslastung. Only last year, the workforce celebrated 50 years of the "March on Heilbronn"; former union secretary Klaus Zwickel is cited as a contemporary witness of this action.

In Neckarsulm, the current combustion-engine models are scheduled to run out at the beginning of the 2030s according to its own information. In den durchgesickerten Plänen ist die Rede, dass die Reformen Anfang der 2030er Jahre beginnen könnten. A local newspaper quoted a Neckarsulm resident as saying: „Was in den letzten Jahren alles dort investiert wurde – und jetzt ist es auf einmal wieder so rum." Despite much praise from Group management for the launch of the A5 and A6, the site is thus once again on the line.

Focus on Neckarsulm and the Memory of 1975

Parallel to the debate at Volkswagen, the situation is also worsening at Mercedes-Benz. As early as the previous Friday, according to union information, tens of thousands of employees of the Stuttgart-based automaker had protested across Germany against a planned tightening of the cost-cutting course. There, too, there is concern about widespread job cuts.

Mercedes-Benz Also Under Pressure

The VDA emphasized at the same time that the situation cannot be resolved solely through corporate adjustments. Site conditions – from energy prices to taxes and social contributions to bureaucracy – must urgently be improved at the political level so that investments and jobs remain in Germany. Without this political framework, the association's message said, companies will „so nicht halten können" their plants.

The coming days are considered decisive: Should the supervisory board approve the tightened cost-cutting course on Thursday in Wolfsburg, both the affected plants and the workers' representatives would be presented with a fait accompli. The discussion about