(new: details)

WOLFSBURG/ZWICKAU (dpa-AFX) - The wage dispute at Volkswagen continues to escalate: IG Metall is mobilizing against the carmaker's billion-euro cost-cutting plans with nationwide warning strikes. At nine of the ten German sites, several tens of thousands of employees temporarily stopped work and brought the production lines to a standstill. In Zwickau, Emden Braunschweig and Hanover alone, the union counted 4,000 to 5,000 participants.

Thousands marched through the main plant in a noisy demonstration and gathered for a rally directly in front of the management tower. "Ready to strike! Nationwide!" they chanted in chanting choruses. "We've had enough," shouted employees in Zwickau in front of the plant gate.

In Braunschweig, more than a thousand employees marched through the city. In Hanover, employees demanded: "Management out!" In Kassel-Baunatal, employees at the components plant made their displeasure heard with whistles, drums and honking horns.

This is the issue

It's about the pay of around 120,000 employees at the Volkswagen AG plants, where a separate company wage agreement applies. In addition, there are more than 10,000 employees at VW Saxony, for whom an alignment with the company pay scale was agreed in 2021. VW is demanding a ten percent pay cut due to the Group's difficult situation. Plant closures and compulsory redundancies are also on the cards. IG Metall wants to prevent this and is instead demanding a future for all sites - without plant closures and compulsory redundancies.

IG Metall threatens further escalation

IG Metall is now increasing the pressure in the dispute. "But this is just a warning!" said Thorsten Groger, IG Metall's chief negotiator in Wolfsburg. If Volkswagen continues to insist on its maximum demands, there is a risk of escalation. "Anyone who ignores the workforce is playing with fire - and we know how to turn sparks into flames!"

In Emden, Daniel Friedrich, District Manager of IG Metall Küste, called on the Group's management to take the massive cost-cutting plans off the table. "Otherwise it won't just be the tree that burns at Christmas, otherwise every single plant will burn." In Zwickau, the local IG Metall district manager Dirk Schulze has already threatened further work stoppages: "If the board does not come to its senses, this will not be the last warning strike."

The next round of negotiations in a week's time will set the course, said works council leader Daniela Cavallo, adding that there will either be a rapprochement or a further escalation.

Warning strike limited to two hours

The warning strikes will last around two hours and will then be repeated on each shift. The strike will only end at the end of the night shift on Tuesday morning.

Volkswagen did not initially provide any information on possible production stoppages. A spokesperson said that the company wanted to minimize the impact as much as possible. The company had therefore taken specific measures to ensure an emergency supply.

Expert warns of damage to VW's image

According to industry expert Frank Schwope, the two-hour strike should be manageable for VW. "Strike-related downtime is easy to make up for," said the lecturer in automotive economics at the Fachhochschule des Mittelstands in Hanover. The situation would be different if the conflict were to escalate further. "A longer, escalating labor dispute would certainly hurt Volkswagen and could also damage its image among the population and in politics."

VW rejects IG Metall proposal

VW had previously stated that it respects the right of employees to go on warning strikes and continues to focus on an amicable solution with the employee side. However, the Group was tough on the matter: a counter-concept from IG Metall and the works council for savings without redundancies and plant closures was rejected by VW on Friday as insufficient.

VW justifies the cuts with high costs and low capacity utilization. In view of the weak demand for new cars, VW must intensify its cost-cutting efforts. According to brand boss Thomas Schäfer, plant closures will probably be unavoidable. In the first nine months of the year, the Group's profits plummeted. However, the Group is far from being in the red: from January to September, VW still posted a surplus of 1.58 billion euros after tax.

It was only at the weekend that Europe's largest car manufacturer's peace obligation, during which industrial action was not permitted, expired. At Volkswagen, this is the biggest strike in years. The last time there were widespread warning strikes at all major plants in western Germany was in 2018. According to IG Metall, more than 50,000 employees took part at that time./fjo/DP/nas