FRANKFURT, (Reuters) – Volkswagen and union IG Metall will start talks at the end of September over a new labour agreement for six of its German plants after a job security scheme was cancelled by the carmaker earlier this week.
Europe’s top carmaker has clashed with workers over proposals to shut German factories for the first time in its history, which are suffering from high labour and energy costs as well as intensifying competition.
Talks between Volkswagen and Germany’s most powerful union will start on Sept. 25, roughly a month ahead of schedule, Volkswagen’s works council said in a statement on Thursday.
The works council said this was preceded by what it called an “unprecedented attack” on labour agreements earlier this week, referring to Volkswagen’s move to scrap a decades-old job guarantee at the six plants.
“The upcoming negotiations appear to be so complex in view of Volkswagen’s extensive terminations that lengthy talks are expected,” the works council said, adding that its head Daniela Cavallo would be part of the team leading negotiations.
The council said that negotiations were further complicated by Volkswagen’s regular annual investment planning, which is coming up in the fall, as well as the carmaker’s planned cost cuts.
Volkswagen had offered to bring forward talks with IG Metall – originally slated for mid- to late October – earlier this week as requested by unions, who have promised fierce resistance to any layoffs and factory closures.
IG Metall has warned that strikes were possible, in theory, from the end of November.
Reporting by Christoph Steitz; editing by Matthias Williams, Rachel More and Elaine Hardcastle
