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Chemnitz. The threat of redundancies and plant closures at Volkswagen is causing resentment at the Chemnitz engine plant. "The workforce is angry," said works council chairman René Utoff after a works meeting. Around 1,000 employees took part in the meeting and greeted VW's Chief Technical Officer, Thomas Schmall, with a concert of whistling.
The latter had not presented any new solutions, but merely repeated the familiar, criticized Utoff. He accused the VW management of playing on people's fears and adding fuel to the fire with threats. Many East Germans in particular still have negative memories of the transformation following reunification.
Volkswagen has announced that it will make substantial savings at its core brand and no longer rules out plant closures and compulsory redundancies. The background to this is overcapacity in the German factories. This means that more cars are being built than VW can sell. The solutions presented so far are unacceptable, emphasized Utoff. Instead, he sees major synergies that could be exploited within the company in order to increase profitability. In his opinion, a 4-day week could also help to secure employment.
Trade unionists: clear signal to Group management
The employees of the engine plant have sent a clear signal to the Group's management that they do not agree with its current course, explained Eddie Kruppa, 1st authorized representative of IG Metall Chemnitz. Chemnitz is a very efficient location and must continue to have a secure place in the company in the future, he demanded.
Unlike the VW plant in Zwickau, where production has been completely converted to e-cars, the Chemnitz engine plant has so far only produced engines for combustion engines.
The site, which employs around 1,900 people, has therefore long been concerned about the future of the plant in view of the planned end of new cars with combustion engines. So far, Volkswagen has held out the prospect of manufacturing components for the thermal management of electric vehicles there. (dpa)
