Business 2 min read 2h ago · Updated August 25, 2026 at 03:55 UTC

VW Works Council Rejects Plant Closures

VW works council chair Daniela Cavallo has categorically rejected plant closures and demanded that any restructuring remain socially responsible, warning she will not support the
VW CEO Oliver Blume's cost-cutting drive has put four plants, including Emden and Hannover, and up to 50,000 jobs at risk, with the board set to address savings plans at the first
Niedersachsen's Minister-President Olaf Lies has called for EU tariffs to be extended to Chinese hybrid vehicles, cited uncompetitive German energy costs, and demanded that all

Volkswagen's works council chair Daniela Cavallo has issued an unequivocal rejection of any plant closures, ahead of nine works assemblies beginning in Wolfsburg on Tuesday at which the carmaker's board is expected to set out its latest savings plans.

Cavallo draws a firm line

Cavallo visited the VW plant in Hannover on Monday evening alongside Niedersachsen's Minister-President Olaf Lies (SPD), before the assembly season opens. Speaking after the visit, she stated that employment security had been hard won and would be defended: "We have fought for employment security and we will continue to fight for changes to happen in a socially responsible way." She specifically demanded that part-time early retirement arrangements be preserved, warning that if they were removed, other measures would need to be discussed — though she made clear that, as an IG Metall representative, she would not be party to any such alternative course. Cavallo also called on Volkswagen's senior management to present a credible vision for the company's future that does not rest solely on cost reduction.

Up to 50,000 jobs in the balance

The pressure on workers stems from a cost-cutting drive announced by VW chief executive Oliver Blume earlier this year. Since that announcement, concern has grown over the future of four plants — including those at Emden and Hannover — and the possible elimination of up to 50,000 additional positions. Whether the board will confirm, modify, or row back on those plans remained unresolved ahead of Tuesday's first assembly in Wolfsburg, the first of nine scheduled through to the end of August.

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Lies presses for EU tariffs and energy relief

Minister-President Lies used his Hannover visit to call for wider action on competitiveness. He argued that European Union tariffs on imported hybrid vehicles from China should be introduced to sit alongside the higher levies already in place on electric cars. He also said Germany's energy costs left it at a structural disadvantage and called for the continuation of the so-called Niedersächsische Weg — a framework which, in his interpretation, would guarantee the retention of all VW sites in Lower Saxony. His interventions reflect the degree to which the Volkswagen crisis has become entangled with broader questions of German industrial policy, echoing tensions visible elsewhere in the German political landscape.

The outcome of the assembly season may prove pivotal for tens of thousands of workers and for the political fortunes of a region whose economy has long been anchored to the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer.

##Volkswagen ##GermanIndustry ##WorksCouncil

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