Crisis Talks at VW: Positive Signs in Chemnitz

The staff meeting with Thomas Schmall, a member of the VW Group Executive Board responsible for Technology, sent positive signals for the Chemnitz engine plant. Financial metrics, production figures, and capacity utilization are excellent in Chemnitz, and the order books are full, said Christian Sommer, spokesperson for VW Saxony, after the meeting. 

Praise for the Chemnitz Plant

“Chemnitz is the lead plant for the EA211 gasoline engine, which is now also available as a hybrid, and Chemnitz is really good at that,” he added. Schmall conveyed this message to the employees at the works meeting and received applause for it.

During the two-hour session, the member of the Group Executive Board responsible for Technology reportedly answered all questions from the employees. With regard to the upcoming supervisory board meeting and collective bargaining negotiations, Sommer said he was unable to make any concrete commitments regarding Chemnitz, but he thanked the employees for their dedication and praised the strength of the location. Chemnitz Mayor Sven Schulze (SPD) also attended the meeting.

Works Council Sees Hope Among the Workforce

Works Council Chair Olaf Glöckner described the mood following Schmall’s visit as positive. “Our colleagues had hoped that someone from headquarters would stop by. That was received very positively,” he told the “Freie Presse.” After the uncertainty of the past few weeks, the visit has sparked some hope.

VW employs around 1,800 people in Chemnitz. The plant supplies engines and components to the automaker’s other production sites.

VW Executive Board Tours Plants

The VW Executive Board began a tour of its sites on Tuesday. Following CEO Oliver Blume’s announcement that cost-cutting measures would be intensified, tens of thousands of additional jobs and four locations are at risk at Europe’s largest automaker. After kicking off the tour in Wolfsburg, Blume visited the plants in Emden and Zwickau—which are considered at risk—on Wednesday. A meeting in Dresden, which had previously been announced for the afternoon, did not take place.