About 70,000 employees of the German car manufacturer Volkswagen took part in the second warning strike , which took place on December 9 at 9 of the concern's 10 plants in Germany. This was announced by the industrial union IG Metall, which represents the interests of the workers.
According to his information, about 68,000 employees stopped work at the auto giant's plants on Monday morning. At the same time, the union noted that only 38,000 people participated in the strike at Volkswagen's main plant in Wolfsburg (Federal State of Lower Saxony). Production was halted for four hours. In this way, IG Metall tried to put pressure on the stalled collective dispute over wage cuts, layoffs and plant closures.
On December 9, the 4th round of tariff negotiations between IG Metall and Volkswagen took place in Wolfsburg. However, a breakthrough was not achieved. The company's management announced that it wanted to close factories and lay off thousands of employees, IG Metall and the works council presented an alternative concept. "Despite a much more constructive climate for discussion, positions remain far apart. For IG Metall, it is crucial to find a solution without plant closures and layoffs for operational reasons”, explained trade union representative Torsten Gröger.
The next round of negotiations is scheduled for December 16-17.
On December 2, almost 100,000 Volkswagen employees announced a two-hour warning strike at the same nine plants. The union is demanding the retention of all Volkswagen factories and job guarantees for employees and against wage cuts.
On October 30, Volkswagen during collective negotiations with IG Metall made a proposal to reduce wages by 10%. Previously, the DPA agency, citing the head of the Volkswagen works council, Daniela Cavallo, reported that the concern plans to close three plants in Germany and cut tens of thousands of jobs. Whole departments have to be closed or moved abroad. Volkswagen noted that restructuring is the only way to remain competitive in the long term. In Germany, about 120,000 people work in Volkswagen factories, about half of them in Wolfsburg.