Protest at Volkswagen in Zwickau: Employees boycott works meeting

The termination of several collective agreements by the car manufacturer Volkswagen is exacerbating the discontent among employees. At a works meeting in Zwickau, part of the workforce boycotted the management's report and left the hall in protest, the local works council reported.

“People rightly expect reliability and, above all, a resilient perspective for their future,” explained the deputy works council chairman of the Zwickau vehicle plant, Mike Rösler. “Our colleagues have been doing an enormous amount for months, showing maximum flexibility and doing everything they can to achieve our goals at the location.” The greater the lack of understanding about the company's termination of the collective agreements. The protest at the works meeting shows how great the frustration and disappointment among employees now is.

According to the information, around 3,000 employees took part in the meeting in the morning. According to the works council, it was expressly not closed shortly after 1 p.m., but rather only interrupted. This means that we reserve the option to continue it in a timely manner if necessary, it said.

VW board is pushing for savings

In view of overcapacity and growing competition from China, the VW board wants to cut 50,000 jobs worldwide in the coming years in addition to the previous reduction plans. In addition, the future of several of the group's German car factories after 2030 is unclear - this includes the factory in Zwickau.

In the struggle for sharper savings, Volkswagen recently terminated a large part of its collective agreements - including the important collective agreement. From the company's perspective, various regulations in these contracts need to be adjusted in view of the current cost pressure, it said.