Deep Read: Wut in der Autoindustrie: „Und dann stellt sich der in Berlin da hin und sagt, wir sollen länger arbeiten“

On Monday, IG Metall flags fluttered at factories of car manufacturers and suppliers across Germany. Approximately 200 locations saw the union mobilize their workforce, rallying under the slogan "Future instead of Cuts" in protest against the industry's cost-cutting measures. IG Metall leader Christiane Benner led the protest in front of the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg.

High-ranking IG Metall representatives joined employees in protests in Munich (BMW), Sindelfingen (Mercedes), Ingolstadt (Audi), and Stuttgart (Bosch). The timing is no coincidence: this week marks the wage negotiations for the 3.7 million employees in metal and electrical industries, many of whom work in the automotive sector. VW, BMW, and Mercedes saw their profits drop by nearly a fifth in the first half of the year, to 13 billion euros, according to a recent EY survey.

This is the lowest value since the pandemic year of 2020. VW confirmed on Friday that it had significantly revised its profit forecast downward. The company now plans to eliminate up to 75,000 jobs in Germany. The fate of VW plants in Hannover, Zwickau, and Emden, as well as Audi's plant in Neckarsulm, is uncertain. Thousands of jobs at BMW and Mercedes are at risk.

The Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) believes the unions and workers need to show greater readiness for change. VDA President Hildegard Müller wrote in a guest column for the Handelsblatt that plant output in Germany is "not a matter of course," and that workloads in plants "are not self-regulating." Those who followed the nationwide protest action at various locations witnessed a defiant atmosphere.

However, the long-lasting crisis in the automotive industry leaves marks on the union and its employees.