- Volkswagen reveals labor contract agreements: potential workforce reductions starting July 2025
Volkswagen has officially ended their employment security agreement, which had been in effect since 1994. The company communicated to the union that this contract will conclude at year's end, with the possibility of layoffs commencing in July 2025, six months afterwards. Alongside the employment security agreement, various other agreements, such as the apprenticeship takeover guarantee and temporary work regulations, have been terminated as well. It's been reported by company insiders that the board of directors had previously discussed and agreed on terminating the contracts.
Wage negotiations to be expedited
Volkswagen intends to speed up negotiations with the union and works council, as mentioned by Personnel Director Gunnar Kilian. The intent is to seal a new arrangement by mid-2025, coinciding with the expiry of the employment security agreement. "This timeline enables us to collaborate with employee representatives to devise strategies that will make Volkswagen financially strong and competitive in the near future," Kilian stated.
"Recent developments have engendered uncertainty. We can mitigate this uncertainty by creating secure prospects for our company in the immediate future," Kilian further added. The wage negotiations for Volkswagen's salary scale, which were initially scheduled for October, will now be moved up and include the recently terminated contracts. This proposition has been previously put forth by the IG Metall union.
Works council vows defiance
Volkswagen announced about a week ago that it would terminate the 30-year-old job guarantee and that plant closures could no longer be ruled out. However, the company had not specified a date until now. Since then, the works council and IG Metall have vehemently opposed these plans.
"As we had anticipated for several days, the company has now carried out its intention," said Daniela Cavallo, the chairwoman of the works council. She also reiterated her resistance to the plans. "We will fiercely counteract this historic threat to our jobs. Layoffs are not an option with us."
- During the wage negotiations with the union and works council, the focus will shift towards discussing the terms of the new collective agreement, aiming to replace the expired employment security agreement.
- Despite Volkswagen's plans to terminate the employment security agreement, the works council remains determined to uphold the collective agreement and protect the jobs of their employees, vehemently opposing any layoffs.
