STORY: This is your final warning.

The message from Volkswagen's labor representatives to management ahead of fresh talks over layoffs and possible factory closures.

Workers have warned that unprecedented industrial action could come in 2025.

VW staff downed tools at nine German sites, while thousands marched in Wolfsburg, where the carmaker is headquartered.

The latest negotiations, which initially kicked off in September, come as Europe's largest carmaker seeks ways to radically cut costs.

It wants to better compete with cheaper Asian rivals that have entered its home market.

The VW crisis has hit at a time of uncertainty and political upheaval in Europe's largest economy.

There's also wider turmoil among the region's automakers.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, trailing in polls ahead of a snap election, has warned VW against factory closures.

Workers are staging four-hour strikes, the second walkouts in a week.

Workers can crank up the pressure on VW by eventually staging 24-hour strikes and even open-ended ones.

While the impact of the walkouts was not immediately clear, the union has said several hundred cars were not built at the Wolfsburg plant alone as a result of the first round.

Volkswagen's stock is one of the worst performers among European carmakers and has fallen by nearly 25% this year.