Volkswagen Faces Crucial Wage Talks Amidst Market Pressure

Volkswagen enters critical wage negotiations with worker representatives, facing potential strikes across German sites. The automaker demands a 10% wage cut to remain competitive amidst low-cost Chinese competition and reduced European demand. Unions counter with a proposal to fund reduced working hours but insist on no plant closures.

Volkswagen and worker representatives continue crucial wage negotiations, seeking resolution amidst looming strikes at German facilities. With 120,000 employees affected, Volkswagen proposes a 10% wage cut to boost profits and fend off competition from China and decreasing European demand.

Unions propose suspending bonuses and creating a fund for reduced working hours, aiming to save jobs and generate substantial savings. They demand a 5.5% wage increase, contributed to the fund, and guarantee no plant closures, a condition Volkswagen hesitates to meet.

The negotiations in Wolfsburg highlight wider concerns over Germany's industrial might as Volkswagen and other automakers, like Ford, face similar challenges. With stakes high, worker strikes are set if demands remain unmet by early December, marking a pivotal moment for Europe's largest automaker.

(With inputs from agencies.)