Fear and uncertainty are running high among employees at the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau in light of impending closure plans from the company’s top management. “If this goes away, we won’t have much left,” said Robin Heuer, an employee in the commissioning department at the Zwickau plant, to the German Press Agency on the sidelines of a protest organized by the IG Metall union at the site. He feels “taken for a ride.”
A closure of the plant—which, according to media reports, could happen in five years—would be a catastrophe for the approximately 8,000 employees currently working at the VW site and countless others at suppliers and companies in the surrounding area. “So everything—really everything—depends on this: all the fears about the future, people who are just now building a house—will it still be worth it then?” said the 32-year-old.
Jessica Kölzig is also wondering how she should shape her future. “I’ve always been very happy here and always thought I’d work here until I retire—but now I see things a little differently,” said the VW plant employee. There’s a lot at stake for the 30-year-old. “I also have a young daughter, and of course I’m worried about her—what her future will look like.”
