Endangered VW plants in focus: VW CEO: costs in Emden too high - cuts in management
The VW plant in Emden is under pressure despite investing billions in electric car production. At a works meeting, VW boss Blume explains why this is the case and where he still wants to save.
Volkswagen's CEO, Oliver Blume, has announced significant cost cuts in management at the company's struggling factories. At a meeting with workers at the threatened plant in Emden, Blume said that a quarter of the positions could be eliminated. "All areas must contribute; it's a feat that can only succeed together," he said. Blume's tour of factory meetings in Emden and Zwickau followed a previous address in Wolfsburg.
Both plants, along with those in Hannover and Audi's Neckarsulm facility, are cited as lacking a "competitive employment" for the 2030s. The uncertainty has not reassured the workers, with both Thomas Knabel, the first authorized representative of IG Metall in Zwickau, and Mike Rösler, chairman of the Volkswagen Workers' Council, citing a "mixed mood."
Blume emphasized the challenging competition for the plant in Ostfriesland, where labor costs are more than double those of comparable European plants. Despite investing billions, Emden now exclusively builds electric vehicles. The plant employs around 7,700 workers. Zwickau faces a similar situation, with the factory now producing only electric vehicles and facing job cuts.
Blume acknowledged the need for change but warned that the current situation is not sustainable. "The world on which many of the decisions we made in the past years is no longer there," he said. He stressed that the situation would be continuously reassessed.
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