German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has called on Volkswagen to refrain from factory closures.
“The locations should be preserved,” he said during a visit to the VW plant in the north-western city of Emden. All efforts should be directed towards this goal, he added.
His comments come after the car manufacturer terminated the employment security agreement with unions in Germany that had been in place for decades, putting factory closures and redundancies up for debate.
But Habeck said streamlining the cost structure did not mean that the workforce would be “cold-heartedly” ignored and locations called into question.
Volkswagen has never closed a factory in Germany, and has not shut down a plant anywhere in the world since 1988.
The automaker has struggled to manage the shift to electric vehicle production, declining prospects in the important Chinese market and tough new competition from rising Chinese automakers.
The economy minister announced new funding measures for electric cars, saying the federal government was planning tax incentives for electric cars used as company cars. In addition, the government would also see if more could be done.
According to a report by Manager Magazin, VW could cut up to 30,000 jobs in Germany in the medium term. The company did not confirm the number.
“This number is completely unfounded and is just nonsense,” the central works council said.
Habeck has invited representatives to an “auto summit” on Monday in view of the sector’s crisis. In addition to the industry association VDA and the union IG Metall, representatives from the largest car manufacturers and suppliers will participate, according to the ministry.
