Volkswagen’s CEO warns company’s situation ‘more than critical’
Volkswagen’s CEO warned Sunday the corporate was in a “greater than crucial” state forward of conferences with the automotive big’s employees the place he’ll defend the corporate’s financial savings plans.
In an interview posted on the corporate’s intranet and despatched to AFP, Oliver Blume mentioned Volkswagen and the remainder of Germany’s automotive business are going through “the most important upheaval of their historical past” from world headwinds and Chinese language competitors.
The carmaker is weighing up enormous job cuts and in coming days Blume will meet with workers at Volkswagen’s HQ in Wolfsburg and websites in Zwickau and Emden to offer updates on the corporate’s plans.
Blume mentioned within the interview that no determination had been taken on plant closures however reiterated the corporate’s place that for vegetation in “Emden, Hannover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm we can not at present see any means of them remaining worthwhile within the 2030s”.
He mentioned that the corporate additionally needed to cope with over-production of 500,000 autos per yr in Europe.
Closing factories would all the time be “the final and most costly resolution”, Blume mentioned.
He added that at websites the place automotive manufacturing might cease, Volkswagen was exploring different “industrial options”, pointing to superior talks with firms from the defence business over utilizing its manufacturing unit in Osnabrueck.
In July, Blume introduced saving plans to Volkswagen’s supervisory board however no determination was taken.
German media reported on the time that the Decrease Saxony state authorities — which is a significant shareholder within the Volkswagen Group and holds 20 % of the voting rights — refused to log off on the plans.
The group has already ordered 50,000 job cuts and Blume mentioned that agreements have already been reached with 37,000 workers.
Blume appealed to workers to drag collectively for the sake of the auto big.
“We’ll solely achieve success if everybody within the firm helps this plan,” he mentioned.
The pinnacle of the IG Metall union on Friday sharply criticised administration and promised to withstand manufacturing unit closures.
Volkswagen’s “staff have already to just accept hefty and painful cuts and now are getting one other slap within the face,” Christiane Benner instructed the Wirtschaftswoche weekly.
