Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) believes the VW Group has a responsibility regarding the Zwickau plant, which is threatened with closure. Employees must be able to rely on promises, he said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk. VW’s production facility in Zwickau, as a flagship plant for electric mobility, had received assurances, but later, production was shifted to other plants. Employees were told they had to meet cost targets, Kretschmer said. “Once they achieved those targets, the discussion arose about whether to close this plant. You can’t work together in good faith that way, and that has nothing to do with a market economy. And that’s why this company must get back on the right track; otherwise, it won’t stand a chance with consumers either. Trust is the most important currency of all.” Kretschmer called VW a visible symbol of a lack of competitiveness. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) hit the nail on the head with his reference to price competitiveness. “We’re too expensive; we’re too slow to survive in this competitive environment,” Kretschmer stated. “Now we’re seeing the first steps toward reform that signal a new direction, but of course they’re still far too few.” We need trade unions and employers to join forces, he said, referring to the debate over longer working hours. The 35-hour workweek, painstakingly won by the unions through decades of labor struggles, “is out of step with the times today,” according to Kretschmer. Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reservedThe 35-hour workweek “doesn’t fit the times today”
