VW brand boss sticks to factory closure plans despite looming strike

(Alliance News) - Volkswagen is sticking to its plans for factory closures in Germany even though the union has voted to go on strike in early December.

"We need to reduce our capacities and adjust to the new realities," chief executive officer of the VW brand, Thomas Schafer, told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in a story published on Saturday.

Included in the cost-cutting moves were component locations and vehicle plants. When asked if VW, part of the wider Volkswagen AG group, could forego shutting a factory, Schafer said, "We do not currently see this."

Schafer did not rule out the threatened redundancies either. Trimming the work force via retirements and severance offers "will not be enough" and would take too long, he said. Schäfer thinks the reorganization could take three to four years.

Agrees with union's demand for management salary cuts

If the two sides reach a collective bargaining agreement, "then for me it includes that the board and management contribute," he said. He stated that since January, the fixed salary of the board has been reduced by 5%, and the management is also forgoing an inflation adjustment of EUR1,000 and a 3.5% salary increase.

On Friday the collective bargaining committee at the IG Metall trade union gave its approval to the strikes, after another round of wage talks ended in Germany without success on Thursday. The strikes are set to start at the beginning of December.

source: dpa

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