Employees of German car maker Volkswagen (VW) protest at the start of a company’s general meeting in Wolfsburg, northern Germany, on September 4, 2024.
Moritz Frankenberg | Afp | Getty Images
Volkswagen‘s management went toe-to-toe with workers on Wednesday, outlining the need to take “joint responsibility” in a bid to turn things around at the crisis-stricken German automotive giant.
The showdown comes shortly after the carmaker flagged it was no longer able to rule out closing plants in its home country of Germany — a measure that was previously considered off the table.
Pictures carried by Getty Images showed employees protesting at the townhall about the potential plans for the business, waving union flags and banners with slogans saying that management mistakes were not their fault and urging leaders to “finally do your job,” according to a CNBC translation.
Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group, said on Wednesday that the current situation at the company “affects us all emotionally, including me personally.”
Blume said the automotive industry had “changed massively” in recent years.
“Together, we will implement appropriate measures to become more profitable. We are leading VW back to where the brand belongs — that is the responsibility of all of us,” he added.
The white and blue VW logo stands on the roof of the brand tower on the grounds of the VW plant in Wolfsburg.
Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
“We have been spending more money at the brand than we earn for some time now. That doesn’t go well in the long term,” Arno Antlitz, chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Volkswagen Group, told employees, according to comments shared by Volkswagen.
Annual vehicle sales in Europe have gone down compared to the period before the Covid-19 pandemic and are set to stay lower against that baseline, Antlitz explained. He said he expects around 2 million fewer cars to be sold every year in the future in the European market, compared to the pre-pandemic period.
Antlitz estimates that Volkswagen holds around a quarter of the European market share, meaning that the decline translates into a 500,000 yearly shortfall in the company’s vehicle sales, equivalent to the combined sales typically achieved by two of its plants.
District Manager of German metalworkers’ union IG Metall in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt Thorsten Groeger (L) and Chairwoman of the General and Group Works Council of the German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) Group Daniela Cavallo are pictured at the start of a company’s general meeting in Wolfsburg, northern Germany, on September 4, 2024.
Moritz Frankenberg | Afp | Getty Images
Volkswagen on Monday said it felt that its its employment protection agreement, which has been in place since 1994 and protects the workforce in Germany until 2029, may need to end.
Speculation about Volkswagen site closures in Osnabrueck in Lower Saxony and Dresden in Saxony mounted on Tuesday.
“It is our joint responsibility to…
Read More: Unions lash out as carmaker weighs German plant closures