Tens of Thousands of German Auto Workers Protest to Save Jobs
The union says nearly 180,000 workers joined protests as Volkswagen plans 100,000 job cuts and other automakers face downsizing.
- On Monday, auto workers demonstrated at over 280 sites across Germany, as the Metall union organized nationwide protests opposing sector-wide job cuts and factory closures.
- Growing Chinese competition, weak domestic demand, and US tariffs have pushed the German car industry into crisis, prompting IG Metall leader Christiane Benner to warn management is driving the industry "at full throttle into a brick wall."
- Speaking at a Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Benner said "things have really hit the fan," noting companies like BMW, Audi, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche face significant viability threats.
- Daniela Cavallo, head of Volkswagen's works council, warned workers "Europe's automotive industry will be remade," stating long-established carmakers will fall as the battle over distributing sacrifices begins.
- Wolfgang Schroeder, a political scientist researching labour relations, described the protests as a sign of "real fear over the future of the industry," while Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil pressed the European Union to protect carmakers from being "naive.
135 Articles
135 Articles
Employees in the German automotive sector have demonstrated massively throughout the country on Monday, 21 September, denouncing the increase in job cuts and factory closures.
VW Action Committee proposes a fighting programme for autoworkers in Germany: Defend every job, break with the union apparatus, no war production
The IG Metall union staged its “day of action” on 21 September, with nationwide, plant-level protests in the auto and supplier industries. The VW Action Committee has issued a fighting programme for auto and supplier workers, starting from the fact that IG Metall representatives voted through a further 50,000 job cuts at Volkswagen on 3 September.
The crisis in the German automotive industry has moved to the streets. 180,000 employees at Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche and numerous suppliers have protested across Germany against factory closures and mass layoffs. What does this mean for Slovenian automotive companies, which are strongly tied to the German market? Are the jobs of approximately 40,000 employees in this industry still safe?
The IG Metall has called nationwide for a big day of action, which also followed numerous employees in NRW.
BT
Nationwide demonstrations against the German auto industry were held on Monday at 280 locations.
Some 175,000 people took part in the IG Metall union in Germany, including protests at the German automobile industry centres - Wolfsburg, Stuttgart, Ingolstadt and Munich.
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