Volkswagen workers boo CEO over job cut warning

Volkswagen workers booed and jeered chief executive Oliver Blume at the carmaker's Wolfsburg factory on Tuesday after he warned of more job losses and said about half of the required adjustments were likely to fall in Germany.

Blume spoke to about 10,000 workers as Volkswagen prepares deeper cost cuts. About 50,000 job cuts have already been agreed across the 10-brand Volkswagen Group, mostly at Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche, and the company has said another 50,000 positions could be required worldwide.

He also cast doubt on the long-term future of three Volkswagen plants and an Audi factory, all in Germany, while saying the company was seeking ways to keep them open into the 2030s. “If we carried on in Germany as we have been, we would be at a permanent disadvantage to the tune of 1.5 billion euros ($1.75 billion) a year,” Blume said, adding that “we are under real pressure to act”.

A person present at the meeting told AFP that Blume's speech was repeatedly interrupted by jeering and whistling. Workers held signs saying: “Don't balance your books with our jobs”.

Works Council chief Daniela Cavallo accused management of keeping employees in the dark and said trust in Blume had been damaged. “You can't work with a CEO who doesn't tell his staff what's going on,” she said.

Volkswagen has struggled with Chinese competition, US tariffs and uneven demand in Europe, including for electric vehicles. IG Metall union leader Christiane Benner acknowledged the pressure from Chinese competition and US tariffs in a radio interview but urged cost-cutting measures other than job cuts.

Any cuts at Volkswagen must be negotiated rather than imposed. Under Germany's co-determination system, labour representatives hold half the seats on supervisory boards at large companies, and Lower Saxony, a shareholder and home to several Volkswagen plants including Wolfsburg, also holds board seats.