German union IG Metall announced on Friday that it had reached an agreement with Volkswagen to carry out involuntary layoffs and plant closures at the automaker’s production plants in Germany until 2030.
Union representatives have been negotiating for weeks with the company — Europe’s largest automarker — over cost-cutting measures, including plans to close three plants, cut wages and slash jobs.
“We have managed to find a solution for Volkswagen plant workers that promises employment, protects products in factories and at the same time allows for significant long-term investments,” union negotiator Thorsten Gröger said in a statement.
“None will be closed, no one will be fired for operational reasons and our company wage agreement will be guaranteed in the long term,” said the president of the Volkssalaryn works council, Daniela Cavallo.
Volkswagen said the deal also included provisions to cut more than 35,000 jobs in “socially responsible” ways by 2030.
Friday’s breakthrough in the northern city of Hannover came after a marathon negotiations lasting 70 hours — the longest in the carmaker’s history.
Gröger said that under the agreement, workers will have job security until 2030 but will have to forego wage increases in the coming years and bonuses will be cut.
He said the package “includes painful contributions from employees, but at the same time creates prospects for the workforce.”
Factory closures, pay cuts and proposed layoffs through VW had already led thousands of people across the country to strike twice in the last month.
The union had threatened further walkouts in the new year if a deal was not struck before the Christmas holidays.
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“After long and thorough negotiations, the deal is a sign of the long-term viability of the Volkswagen brand,” group CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement.
The company said the agreement with the union would save 15 billion euros ($15. 6 billion) a year in the medium term. It will also increase the technical capacity of its German plants by 700,000 vehicles.
“We had three priorities in the negotiations: reducing excess capacity in the German plants, reducing labor prices and bringing progression prices to a competitive level,” said Thomas Schäfer, head of VW logo. “We have discovered viable answers to all three. ” issues. “
The company cited the China festival, weak demand in Europe and slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles as reasons for cutting costs.
nm/ko (AFP, Reuters, dpa)