Volkswagen Group’s disaster in Europe may lead to a number of manufacturing vegetation shutting down, however VW’s works council thinks that may be prevented. The worker-led group just lately proposed a sweeping minimize in wages throughout blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Works council chief Daniela Cavallo believes this could be sufficient to keep away from mass layoffs and the potential closure of VW factories in Germany.
Cavallo offered this info throughout a press convention forward of renewed negotiations with VW administration, studies Automotive Information Europe. The cuts would come with wage reductions in addition to suspended bonuses for just about everybody on the firm, together with executives and board members. Cavallo said that labor prices are literally only a small portion of the $18 billion VW administration is in search of to avoid wasting.
The proposal comes amid information that VW’s labor prices are significantly increased than these incurred by different German automakers. Paperwork obtained by Reuters present 15.4 p.c of VW’s income is spent on labor in Germany, in comparison with a variety of 9.5 to 11 p.c for Stellantis, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. The typical hourly pay for VW employees within the nation is $66 per hour.
In protection of labor prices, the works council highlights struggles at different VW Group corporations like Porsche, Audi, and VW Monetary Companies. The council claims earnings from these corporations by way of the primary three quarters of 2024 are down, costing VW $5.8 billion.
In any case, VW is dealing with a monetary disaster that would in the end see three of its six factories in Germany shut for good. Amongst them is the Clear Manufacturing unit in Dresden, a comparatively small facility that at present builds the ID.3. The sprawling Osnabruck manufacturing facility, the place Porsche builds the 718 twins, can be on the chopping block. They’re going to quickly be out of manufacturing in lieu of electrical replacements. Osnabruck additionally builds the Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet, Europe’s hottest mainstream convertible.