The IG Metall union has called for widespread strikes at all Volkswagen factories in Germany from Monday, after negotiations over impending job cuts failed last week.

The German auto giant says it must restructure and reduce its production capacity amid sluggish car sales, which are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels.

What are both sides saying?

VW has demanded pay cuts for its workers and threatened factory closures and mass layoffs as part of a major cost-cutting program.

Labor officials have vowed to wage a tough and intense fight against such cuts, and on Sunday promised “warning strikes” at all factories on Monday.

“The duration and intensity of this dispute is up to Volkswagen to decide at the negotiating table,” said IG Metall negotiator Thorsten Gröger. “If necessary, it will be the toughest wage dispute Volkswagen has ever faced.”

Collective negotiations between VW and IG Metall are ongoing, but so far they have hardly resulted in an agreement.

In one concession, union negotiators proposed waiving bonuses for two years and creating a fund to finance a temporary reduction in working hours in the company’s least productive sectors.

The conflict concerns the remuneration of some 120,000 employees of VW factories where collective negotiations apply.

VW has so far rejected any increase and is instead demanding a 10% pay cut due to the group’s difficult situation.

Although the automaker welcomed workers’ willingness to consider reductions in labor costs and capacity, it added that any wage deal must provide “sustainable financial relief.”

VW says it must cut costs, increase profits and defend its market share in the face of cheap competition from China and falling European auto demand.

A mandatory work truce, which banned strikes, expired on Saturday. A new round of negotiations is scheduled for December 9.

The last time large-scale actions took place at factories in Germany, rather than at individual sites, was in 2018. According to IG Metall, more than 50,000 employees took part.

wmr/rc (AFP, afp)