Workers Slam Volkswagen Boss Over Lack of Details of Cost-Cutting Plan

An extraordinary meeting between Volkswagen management and employees on Tuesday failed to bring calm amid anger from workers over a cost-cutting drive that could threaten tens of thousands of additional jobs at the struggling carmaker.

The meeting at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg headquarters was the first of nine scheduled for the coming days at the carmaker’s main German sites.  The works council is demanding greater clarity on the planned measures, which could put up to 50,000 more jobs and four German plants at risk on top of existing cost-cutting programmes.

Works council chief Daniela Cavallo sharply criticized the board led by chief executive Oliver Blume at the Wolfsburg meeting, according to participants.

“You can’t work with a chief executive who doesn’t tell his staff what’s going on,” she said, arguing that workers’ trust in Blume had been damaged due to the scant details shared regarding Volkswagen’s latest belt-tightening measures.

Some 100,000 jobs on the line Volkswagen already plans to cut 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030, including positions at its Audi and Porschesubsidiaries.

Earlier this year, however, chief executive Blume announced plans to step up the savings drive, potentially putting another 50,000 jobsat risk.

Under the plans, Volkswagen plants in the German cities of Emden, Zwickau and Hanover, as well as a plant of subsidiary Audi in Neckarsulm, could be shut, though Blume has described such a move as a last resort that he would prefer to avoid. He is set to address workers at the plants later this week.

The supervisory board - which includes employee representatives - rejected the latest cost-cutting proposals in July, meaning the road to an agreement looks rocky.

Blume used his Tuesday address to workers in Wolfsburg to reiterate that “the entire car industry is under enormous pressure,” pointing to US tariffs, shrinking margins in the critical Chinese market and global conflict.

While Volkswagen was performing well competitively by comparison, “we must reduce complexity, consistently streamline our structures and cut costs,” Blume said.

Noting Volkswagen’s 3.8% operating margin, Blume said that while the number was solid, it was “not enough to finance our future from our own resources.” Turbulent months ahead? Works council chief Cavallo slammed the 50,000 additional job cuts announced by Blume earlier this year as a figure chosen to impress stock markets.

She criticized management for failing to provide details on which regions, Volkswagen brands and subsidiaries are likely to be most affected by the cuts, earning applause from the more than 10,000 employees at the meeting.

Industry expert Stefan Bratzel from the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) said he expects tensions at Volkswagen to remain high in the coming months.

The meetings between management and workers are unlikely to bring much clarity, he said, as “strategic decision are made by the supervisory board.” The board’s next meeting is scheduled for September.