Volkswagen's workers threaten strikes unless it reinstates wage deals (updated)

Volkswagen AG

23/10/2026 09:32

    * Threat of strikes if Volkswagen keeps wage deal
termination
    * German working hours, holiday pay put up for renegotiation
 
    * Works council says board plans salary freeze for 660,000
staff  

    (Adds IG Metall statement in paragraph 8, Volkswagen
statement in paragraph 10, 14-15)
    By Christoph Steitz
       FRANKFURT, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Volkswagen  VOWG_p.DE 
workers on Friday threatened strikes from January unless
Europe's top automaker reverses a recent cancellation of wage
deals by the end of next week.
    The dispute over planned cutbacks came to a head last month
when Volkswagen terminated almost all wage deals with German
workers, putting long-standing labour standards including
working hours and holiday pay up for renegotiation.
    Volkswagen plans to cut 100,000 jobs and could close up to
four plants in Germany in what would be its biggest-ever
overhaul, as it faces fierce Chinese competition, billions in
tariff costs and a costly shift to electric vehicles.
    The plan targets €20 billion ($22.4 billion) in cost cuts
along the value chain by 2030, while overheard costs are also
expected to be lowered by an additional €11 billion, Volkswagen
has said.
    "We are giving the company until the end of October to
withdraw this notice of termination," IG Metall's chief
negotiator Thorsten Groeger said in Hanover, where unions and
management met for a fresh round of talks.
    "Otherwise a massive process will be set in motion which,
let me make this clear, will pave the way for industrial action
at Volkswagen," he added.
    Industrial action typically encompasses strikes, which are
ruled out before January 1 under a current truce. Volkswagen's
management "should mark this date clearly in their diaries",
Groeger said.
    Following Friday's round of talks IG Metall said Volkswagen
was sticking with the termination, forcing unions to prepare for
a clash in the new year.
    The union accuses the German carmaker of shirking
commitments made in a landmark deal in late 2024, while
Volkswagen says it is pursuing every available option to cut
costs and safeguard competitiveness.
    "The economic situation has deteriorated dramatically since
the collective bargaining agreement for the future was concluded
in 2024. This creates an urgent need for action," Volkswagen
executive Arne Meiswinkel said after the talks.
    Volkswagen's works council said on Monday that the company's
executive board plans to freeze the salaries of 660,000 staff
worldwide until 2030.
    "We know which operating conditions have changed, but we
also know which ones were foreseeable, and we expect the
highest-paid management board in this country to work with us to
find a solution," said works council chief Daniela Cavallo.
    Volkswagen has declined to comment on specific cost-cutting
and restructuring actions it may pursue in German wage
negotiations.
    Both sides will start official negotiations on the cancelled
wage agreements on November 24 at Volkswagen's Emden site, and
continue talks on December 15 in Zwickau, Volkswagen said.
    Volkswagen said this could include so-called transfer
companies, set up with support from the federal employment
agency to retrain workers and help them find new jobs outside
Volkswagen.
    ($1 = 0.8928 euros)

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    (Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Additional reporting by
Ilona Wissenbach and Rachel More; Editing by Ludwig Burger,
Linda Pasquini, Alexander Smith and David Gregorio)
 ((mailto:christoph.steitz@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220 133
647;))