In Germany, the trade union IG Metall and Volkswagen have reached an agreement on cost-cutting measures.
In Germany, the trade union IG Metall and the car manufacturer Volkswagen have reached an agreement on the cost-cutting program to be started at Volkswagen.
In the biggest news, Volkswagen is canceling the closures of car factories that were previously hinted at. These targeted savings will be replaced by salary solutions negotiated by the trade union and the car company.
The employees will, among other things, give up the bonuses and other extras paid by Volkswagen. However, the monthly salary will not be cut, even though Volkswagen had aimed for 10 percent salary reductions.
In addition, the now negotiated solution avoids mandatory layoffs until 2030. However, it is possible to reduce as many as 35,000 jobs, but it is planned to be done in a “socially responsible way” during the next five years.
The agreement was reached this week at the end of nearly 60 hours of negotiations.
IG Metall, the major union representing workers in the metal and electronics industry, is Germany’s largest trade union and Europe’s largest industrial union. It represents more than 2 million employees.
Volkswagen AG is Europe’s largest car company with a turnover of more than 300 billion euros.
Source: AFP, AP