Volkswagen’s supervisory board meeting on Thursday in Wolfsburg ended without concrete results. Oliver Blume avoided any statements about plant closures or job cuts in a subsequent video message. The works council reacted angrily and gave Blume an ultimatum: he must address the workforce by the end of Friday.
In the works council’s own newspaper “Mitbestimmen,” top works councilor Daniela Cavallo is quoted as saying that the board’s treatment of the workforce is “beyond disrespectful.” Hundreds of employees had demonstrated outside the plants.
On Thursday evening, Volkswagen announced in a press release that it would reduce global production capacity to nine million vehicles per year and streamline its model lineup by up to 50 percent. Blume stated that the goal is to make the Volkswagen Group “the most attractive automotive company in the world” by 2030. Lower Saxony’s Minister Olaf Lies (SPD) emphasized that plant closures are not a strategy for the future. When concrete decisions will be made remained unclear.
Source: www.ndr.de
