What VW and IG Metall have agreed on

The future of the plants

The IG Metall has also prevented entire plant closures. However, some sites - including the main plant in Wolfsburg - are facing serious changes. In addition to the reduction of around 4,000 jobs, the end of the combustion Golf is certain. Production of the Golf and Golf Variant models will be relocated to Puebla in Mexico from 2027, the Group announced.

In future, the ID.3 electric models and the Cupra Born will be produced at the company headquarters. VW wants to secure the future of the site with the electric Golf and another model based on the future electric car architecture. It also seems clearer for the plants in Emden and Zwickau, which have already switched to electric cars, with models from the ID series and electric cars from Audi respectively.

The situation is different for the sites in Osnabrück and Dresden, which were recently classified as being at risk. In Osnabrück, production of the T-Roc Cabrio is to be extended until late summer 2027. Beyond that, the prospects for the 2,300 employees are more difficult to grasp. The trade union has formulated the goal of developing a future economic perspective for the site. The Group says that options for a different use of the site are being examined.

According to VW, vehicle production in the Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden will end at the end of 2025. The company is working on alternative options, it said. These include the possibility of participating in a third-party concept. IG Metall emphasizes that Volkswagen will continue to be present at the site with its own activities in the future.

Salary development

When it comes to pay, there will be a zero round for the approximately 130,000 VW employees. Similar to the agreement in the metal and electrical industry, a salary increase of five percent will be paid into a fund in two stages and not into the employees' accounts. This fund would be used, for example, to finance flexible working time reductions for some of the employees. The trade union and works council presented this concept in November - the car manufacturer publicly rejected it, IG Metall announced.

The two sides also agreed to revise the pay system, which is now decades old. The analysis is to begin next year, with implementation not until 2027. From then on, future collective bargaining rounds could also ensure new pay increases at VW before 2030.

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