Before the billions are distributed to the plant network every year in November, the big negotiations start at VW.
This time the signs are particularly complicated.
Wolfsburg - Was it a new provocation? Or an overdue wake-up call? The group-typical wave of excitement at Volkswagen recently broke out again around statements by CEO Herbert Diess about allegedly 30,000 jobs at risk. To be more precise: the exact reference of his thoughts in a supervisory board meeting.
Some fear that Europe's largest car manufacturer will have to cut many jobs again due to cost pressure, the chip crisis and the growing market power of US rival Tesla. The management assured that there were no concrete plans, especially no cross-off list. Others believe: Diess' remarks could serve as a test balloon for possible further austerity packages - also because of subsequent warnings to top executives that one should not miss the boat when it comes to restructuring the auto industry.
VW: Semiconductor shortages and “gigafactory” make future planning difficult
Either way, the timing would be right: In three weeks (November 12), Germany's largest company should make decisions on investments for the next five years.
The planning round for the allocation of the works and the distribution of the billions on individual topics had often been preceded by haggling and feinting.
And of course it's also about jobs that depend on existing and new models.
This time the mix is particularly delicate.
It is unclear when there will be enough semiconductors again to curb the largely ongoing short-time work.
Likewise, the question of how big the consequences of Tesla's “Gigafabrik” near Berlin will be for the car market, virtually right on the doorstep of VW headquarters in Wolfsburg.
The latest irritations were about Wolfsburg.
In September, Diess had named the number 30,000 in a supervisory board round - as he later pointed out, but as an extreme scenario if the change in the direction of e-mobility does not progress as hoped.
One thing is clear: The main VW plant is now badly underutilized, and there could be as little production here in 2021 as it was in the late 1950s.
From the current point of view, it will be difficult to even manage the almost half a million of the tough Corona year 2020.
Volkswagen: These statements cause concern
The works council is alarmed.
He has long been asking for another electric model in addition to the “Trinity” project, which is to come from 2026 - later than initially planned.
With the ID series, Wolfsburg may also have opportunities for a joint production with other plants.
Even if Diess’s advance should not appear to be in the mood for the threat of job cuts: Participants in the meeting wonder why the boss, who has just been given a fresh contract, was pushing ahead again like this.
Everyone knows that VW has to cut costs, especially for its core brand.
The “Future Pact” agreed at the end of 2016, which provided for cuts while setting up new fields of employment at the same time, was followed by the “Digital Transformation Roadmap”. At the end of last year, the management and works council agreed that the fixed costs of the VW brand should decrease by five percent by 2023. At the same time, the rate of return should increase. Personnel expenses are also reduced - within the framework of programs that are already running - through early retirement, partial retirement or hiring freezes.
In view of the consequences of the pandemic, a shortage of parts and the pressure to transform, VW may have to readjust again.
But why, some ask, is this hot topic coming up again so quickly in this form?
Here the doers, there the blockers - this line of conflict between the board of directors and parts of the control committee has long been the common narrative in Wolfsburg.
Especially when delicate decisions had to be prepared.
After Bernd Osterloh, head of the works council for many years, moved to the board of the commercial vehicle subsidiary Traton in May and Diess pushed for his own contract extension in July, some thought it would now be a bit calmer and more harmonious.
VW: Lack of communication at the Wolfsburg car manufacturer
Far from it, one might think. Osterloh's successor Daniela Cavallo had announced that she would stand up for the interests of the workforce with just as much determination. And Diess had declared that it was looking forward to working with her. However, it has now been reported from corporate circles that there had been no coordination with the employee representatives before the calculation of possible savings targets. Then the rumbling in the supervisory board - so everything is the same? "There are no mind games about any job cuts," Cavallo clarified - and Diess also asked for clarification.
Officially, nobody wants to use the word breach of trust. But everyone involved knows that a lot is at stake for VW in the next few years and that everyone should therefore pull together. Diess is known for his gruff manner with which he flirts himself. However, this does not detract from the assessment of many industry experts that hardly anyone is as brave as he is when it comes to planning the future. His change of direction is highly regarded in industry.
“When I think of Wolfsburg, I don't have job cuts on my mind,” he said internally. “It's about how we work together.
We need a new way of thinking. ”Wolfsburg also has to stretch.
In a VW paper to the potential coalition partners in the federal government, it says: "We want to do our part to ensure that Europe becomes greenhouse gas-neutral by 2050." The need for more agility cannot be ignored, said Diess.
In the matter completely undisputed, says someone from the ownership.
However, they will not support any unsettled approach.
"He couldn't get away with that."
VW: From record profits to downsizing?
VW employees have long known how painful the upheavals in the German core industry could be. At the repeated intrigues, however, there is some head shaking. It was thought that the constant navel gazing at the top would stop now, says one. Instead, the bosses should please take care of the acute problems - keyword tape stop due to missing semiconductors. VW has had a task force for months that is supposed to find as many chips as possible. But Cavallo is also getting noticeably nervous here.
"The management of a global corporation can be expected to be able to organize purchasing in such a way that cars can be built reliably," said the new head of the works council "Zeit online".
No plan is yet apparent from the management “how this crisis can be managed.
We made a record profit in the first half of the year, and now there is speculation about the loss of thousands of jobs. "
The next few weeks will show whether some brand numbers might turn out red in the third quarter.
From the perspective of the Wolfsburg workers, it does not seem particularly helpful that Diess once again appears to be not very approachable.
He canceled an invitation to the next works meeting at headquarters on November 4th.
Reason: an appointment with US investors.
(dpa)
