Crisis at VW: “Volkswagen hasn’t done its homework for years”

Volkswagen is turning its own employees against itself with its savings plans. “The board wants to close at least three VW plants in Germany,” said group works council boss Daniela Cavallo in Wolfsburg. In addition, massive staff reductions and wage cuts are planned. Europe’s largest car manufacturer did not want to confirm the measures when asked, but confirmed the recently tightened savings plans for the weakening core brand VW. The situation is serious, said Human Resources Director Gunnar Kilian, according to the statement.

“Rhine Newspaper”: “Volkswagen hasn’t done its homework for years. Instead of building better diesel engines, the company cheated customers and authorities – the legal investigation into the scandal is still ongoing today. When Tesla built the first electric cars, the then VW boss made fun of the visions of a certain Elon Musk. This hubris has made VW sleepy, and the company has now lost touch with electromobility in the USA, Europe and especially China. The fact that Olaf Scholz is now saying that the main thing now is to keep jobs “We don’t know anything good. VW doesn’t need more government, but more market economy. The longer the company delays the cuts, the more painful they will be.”

“Leipziger Volkszeitung”: “Somewhere in the many extensions to this large house, enough was always earned to ignore the need for renovation in the old living room. The lack of competitiveness of the German locations has literally been an issue for decades. But as long as the Chinese market has been booming, the company’s subsidiary Audi “We made brilliant money with the premium strategy, Porsche celebrated sales records despite six-figure prices – that’s how long it could be endured.”

“Reutlinger General-Anzeiger”: “The zigzag course when it comes to e-fuels is probably due to German manufacturers not switching more consistently to e-mobility and thus continuing to maintain expensive double structures, while manufacturers in China focus entirely on the new technology and are thus able to to achieve significantly greater economies of scale. But even in the important sales market of China, citizens are currently holding on to their money.”

“Augsburger Allgemeine”: “Sometimes you only realize how much people are missing many years after their death. Ferdinand Piëch died in 2019. Today, the foresight and wisdom of the oddball VW patriarch would be in demand more than ever. (…) Piëch, as a great networker, would have works councils and trade unionists not provoked with new threats, but reached an agreement with them behind the scenes under Piëch. In 1994, the company and the works council introduced the four-day week. This secured jobs and paved the way out of the crisis Clear-cutting, on the other hand, leaves scorched earth.”

“Pforzheimer Zeitung”: “Over the years, the mountain of difficulties has gotten bigger and bigger. Many factors play a role, including without a doubt mistakes that were made on the carpet floor. Another problem is the extraordinary power of IG Metall and the works council as well as politics, which is necessary Cuts have often prevented. As proof, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced yesterday that possible wrong management decisions should not be at the expense of the employees. Unfortunately, at whose expense are the VW employees? “I would like to hear the Chancellor’s words. But he stirs up hopes that he cannot fulfill.”

“Rhein-Neckar newspaper”: “The spontaneous end to the promotion of electric cars has a name: Robert Habeck. The green economics minister has thus cut off the juice of an entire industry. (…) Of course, there are many, many mistakes in the management of the car companies and record electricity prices. But especially VW was prepared for the energy transition in free-flowing traffic. Now there are factory closures and staff cuts. The threatened import tariffs for the Chinese market also have a name: Olaf Scholz was unable to avert the EU punitive tariffs for China. His influence in Brussels is too weak. (…) The investment backlog in Germany also has a name: Christian Lindner, the liberal economics minister, is firmly pushing the debt brake in the middle of the crisis. But the economic engine is not starting, even after the two summits today, which are already bad “The traffic lights can’t do it.”

“The Bell”: “Europe’s largest car manufacturer is reeling – and with it Germany as a location. (…) What is fatal is that the enormous problems and challenges are faced by a federal government in dissolution that appears paralyzed and unable to act. The three government parties are hopelessly at odds (…). Standstill until But the country cannot afford it at all. The German location is extremely unattractive for companies (…) The first building block for change would have to be an unleashing package that finally gives the economy room to breathe again is in a position, it should quickly make room for a replacement.”

“Southwest Press”: “At least three plants closed, layoffs, salary cuts. If this happens, it will not only be a turning point for Volkswagen. The entire German car industry will no longer be the same. Dams will break. If even VW resorts to mass relief, anything seems possible . Economic uncertainty is increasing in Germany. What VW urgently needs is a common future concept on how to transform itself into a more productive company – like Toyota – with as few job cuts as possible Belly.”

“Stuttgarter Zeitung”: “The termination of the decades-long job guarantee and the announcement of factory closures break with the company’s long-held taboos. While a wage increase of seven percent is being negotiated, the board is now calling for cuts of ten percent and then a moratorium for two years. However, there is a need for action dramatic. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Volkswagen brand in particular can no longer hold its own in international competition.”

“Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “The struggle in the VW Group now gives a foretaste of what lies ahead for the car world. One round of savings follows the next among suppliers, and the situation will continue to worsen. Not only VW, but also BMW and Mercedes will feel the effects of profits from China because local rivals in e-mobility have run away. In Europe, high energy and labor costs are a burden, not to mention the chaos surrounding the end of the combustion engine. It would be reductive to accuse the companies of having missed the transformation. But the fact that the industry is now calling for government help in unison sounds like mockery. Incentives to buy electric cars can improve demand. But what is more important is that VW and Co. reduce their costs in order to catch up with global competition.