The threat of redundancies and plant closures at Volkswagen is causing resentment at the Chemnitz engine plant. "The workforce is angry," said works council chairman René Utoff after a works meeting. Around 1,000 employees took part in the meeting and greeted Thomas Schmall, VW's Chief Technical Officer, with a concert of whistling. Utoff criticized the fact that Schmall had not presented any new solutions, but had merely repeated the familiar. He accused VW management of playing on people's fears and adding fuel to the fire with threats. Many East Germans in particular still have negative memories of the transformation following reunification.
Volkswagen has announced that it will make substantial savings in its core brand and no longer rules out plant closures and compulsory redundancies. The background to this is overcapacity in the German factories. This means that more cars are being built than VW can sell. The solutions presented so far are unacceptable, emphasized Utoff. Instead, he sees major synergies that could be leveraged within the company to increase profitability. In addition, he believes that a 4-day week could help to secure employment.
