Volkswagen workers slam management's 'disastrous' communication over job cuts
A Volkswagen works council survey found employees rank poor management communication as their top grievance, ahead of even job security fears. A round of meetings between executives and staff at German plants begins this week.
Volkswagen employees have strongly criticised company management as uncertainty grows over potential job cuts and the future of several German factories. In a staff morale survey launched by the works council last week, employees accused the board of 'disastrous communication,' AFP reported on Monday.
The survey, conducted via the company intranet, allowed staff to voice criticism and expectations toward CEO Oliver Blume and the rest of the board. Poor communication emerged as employees' top complaint — ranking even above concerns about job security or possible plant closures. According to the German Press Agency, workers and their families said they felt 'uncertain and frightened.'
The consultation was organised by Volkswagen's works council ahead of a series of meetings between senior executives and staff. This week, Blume and other board members are touring Volkswagen sites for nine extraordinary works meetings, where executives are expected to give initial responses to employee questions and criticism. The first meeting takes place Tuesday, 25 August, in Wolfsburg, followed by sessions in Emden, Zwickau and Braunschweig, ending in Hannover on 31 August.
Financial pressure
Volkswagen is pursuing deeper cost cuts amid fierce competition from China, weaker demand and US tariffs. In a separate intranet post seen by AFP on Sunday, Blume said 'the situation is more than critical,' warning the company was not earning enough to secure long-term funding for new technologies, products and its production sites.
Volkswagen's first-half operating result fell 11.6% to €5.9 billion, while its operating margin dropped from 4.2% to 3.8%. The company has already agreed to around 50,000 job cuts across its brands, including Volkswagen itself, Audi and Porsche, but has said a further 50,000 positions could need to go. Uncertainty also hangs over four German plants: sites in Emden and Zwickau, the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles factory in Hannover, and Audi's plant in Neckarsulm.
Blume said Sunday that Volkswagen and Germany's wider car industry face 'the biggest upheaval in their history' due to global headwinds and Chinese competition. Other German carmakers have raised similar concerns about the country's high production costs — Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said last month that costs at the firm's German operations were about 70% higher than at its Hungarian plants.
