German state premier says VW needs urgent talks with workers

Amid warnings of mass layoffs or plant closures at German automaker Volkswagen, the state premier of Lower Saxony on Wednesday called for swift talks between the company and labour leaders.

Stephan Weil, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), said that management and labour must find compromises and solutions that will keep Volkswagen internationally competitive, during a visit to a VW plant in the north-western German city of Emden.

Weil spoke for almost an hour at the plant with representatives of the works council and the IG Metall trade union, both of which have promised to wage an intense battle against any layoffs or closures in Germany.

The state of Lower Saxony is home to VW headquarters and several large plants. The state is also owns a substantial minority stake in the Volkswagen Group, the brand's parent company and Europe's largest automaker, and controls 20% of the share voting rights.

Both Weil and Lower Saxony's deputy state premier, Julia Willie Hamburg of the Greens, sit on the company's supervisory board. If Lower Saxony were to side with VW labour groups, together they could exercise a majority on the board.

"You can clearly feel that the events since the beginning of last week have caused great concern at Volkswagen, for example here at the site," said Weil.

Around 8,000 people are employed at VW in Emden, and the plant is by far the most important industrial employer in the region.

VW recently announced that it would have to make substantial savings at its core brand, and that previously planned job cuts through partial retirement and severance payments were no longer sufficient.

On Tuesday, the Volkswagen Group terminated a job guarantee deal that had been in place since 1994, meaning that compulsory redundancies are possible from July 2025.

"Start talking plainly with each other very quickly," Weil said on Wednesday. "We are very interested in the positive further development of Volkswagen in Lower Saxony."

Weil went on to say that VW had been through many difficult periods in the company's history. "So far, it has always been possible to achieve joint results between management and the workforce, and I don't see why it won't be possible this time."

He added that both sides should engage in private to consider steps that could boost VW's competitiveness.