Julia Willie Hamburg (Greens), deputy minister-president of Lower Saxony, has spoken out clearly against plant closures on Volkswagen’s supervisory board. “Simply closing plants would be far too short-sighted. Plant closures are not a future strategy,” the politician told news agency dpa. The state of Lower Saxony holds 20 percent of the voting rights at Volkswagen and, together with employee representatives, has a majority on the supervisory board as well as a veto right on key decisions.
Hamburg stressed that change at VW is necessary but must not weaken industrial substance. Instead of abandoning plants, the group should leverage synergies, eliminate duplicate structures, and invest in future technologies—from modern drive technology to software, digitalization, and artificial intelligence. “That is where the real lever lies to actually cut costs,” the board member said.
Manager Magazin had previously reported that VW wants to intensify its cost-cutting program and eliminate up to 100,000 jobs worldwide—twice as many as previously planned. Four German plants—Hannover, Emden, Zwickau, and Neckarsulm—are reportedly threatened with closure. Hamburg pointed out that plant closures would not take effect until 2030 at the earliest and therefore are no answer to the acute crisis. She called on the executive board to present structured and verified solutions.
Source: www.zeit.de
