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VW workers step up strikes to fight German plant closures

Volkswagen workers will go on extended strikes on Monday, stepping up a bitter dispute with management over layoffs and what would be the first factory closures on German soil for Europe's largest carmaker, a union statement said.

Business • 06 Dec 24

VW CEO clashes with workers as conflict over pay deepens

Volkswagen's CEO and labour boss clashed during a staff meeting today, with management pushing for major cuts while workers warned of more strikes as long as plant closures remain part of wage negotiations at the embattled German automaker.

Business • 04 Dec 24

Volkswagen, Europe's top carmaker, has threatened thousands of job cuts and potential plant closures in Germany

Europe's auto sector plans plant closures and layoffs

A slew of automotive companies across Europe have announced plant closures and big layoffs recently as they struggle with weak demand, high costs, competition from China and a slower-than-expected transition to electric vehicles.

Business • 03 Dec 24

Workers at nine Volkswagen car and component plants across Germany are striking today

Nine Volkswagen plants on strike as labour row escalates

Workers at nine Volkswagen car and component plants across Germany started strikes lasting several hours today, bringing assembly lines to a halt as labour and management clash over the future of the carmaker's German operations.

Business • 02 Dec 24

Members of the IG Metall metalworkers union at Volkswagen

Volkswagen strikes from early December necessary - union

Workers at Volkswagen could go out on strike across Germany as soon as next week, the IG Metall union said in a notice today, as a clash between labour and management over layoffs and plant closures escalates.

Business • 29 Nov 24

Volkswagen is to sell its controversial plant in China's Xinjiang region to the Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Center

Volkswagen confirms plans to sell site in Xinjiang region

Volkswagen will exit its controversial plant in China's Xinjiang region, after years of investor pressure to abandon its presence in the region, where rights groups have documented abuses including mass forced labour in detention camps.

Business • 27 Nov 24

Some analysts have prediced that Stellantis will be 'hardest hit' by tariffs on US imports from Mexico as the group imported 358,000 units last year

European automakers fall as Trump pledges tariffs

European car makers shares fell today, as traders reacted to President-elect Donald Trump pledging big tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, news that fueled jitters over a potential global trade war.

Business • 26 Nov 24

Volkswagen bosses and unions are holding a third round of wage talks today, with just ten days left to find a solution before unions have threatened to escalate the fight with strikes across German sites

Volkswagen enters third round of wage talks

Volkswagen management and worker representatives begin a third round of wage negotiations today, with just ten days left to find a solution before unions have threatened strikes across German sites.

Business • 21 Nov 24

Volkswagen, Europe's top automaker, has cut its annual outlook twice during the third quarter

Volkswagen Q3 profit slumps as major overhaul looms

Volkswagen said today that its third-quarter operating profit plunged 42% as weak performance in the core passenger car unit and high costs, including for model revamps, hit the automaker.

Business • 30 Oct 24

Volkswagen is threatening to shut at least three factories in Germany and lay off tens of thousands of staff

German car industry transformation may cost 186,000 jobs

The transformation of the German car industry could lead to 186,000 jobs losses by 2035, of which roughly a quarter have already occurred, a study commissioned by the VDA auto industry association released today showed.

Business • 29 Oct 24

Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Limited has agreed to pay over £21.5m in redress to around 110,000 customers who may have suffered

UK watchdog fines Volkswagen unit for unfair treatment

A British regulator has fined Volkswagen's UK financial services unit £5.4m for unfairly treating financially-stretched customers between 2017 and 2023.

Business • 21 Oct 24

The German ministries of Lower Saxony, Saxony, Hesse and Berlin have vowed to work together to save Volkswagen sites

German states to work together to save Volkswagen sites

The four German states with a Volkswagen presence want to work together to ensure that the struggling carmaker does not shut any of its plants, the states' economy ministries said in a joint position paper seen by Reuters.

Business • 15 Oct 24

The German car sector is facing challenges, ranging from high production costs and managing the shift to EVs to falling demand and rising competition from China

BMW and Mercedes quarterly sales drop on weak China

Sluggish demand and stiff competition in China hit third quarter sales at BMW and Mercedes, the German luxury automakers said today.

Business • 10 Oct 24

Members of the IG Metall metalworkers union at Volkswagen demonstrate

Volkswagen digs in as workers threaten strikes

Volkswagen flatly rejected union demands after the first round of bitterly contested talks ended without agreement today, as workers at Europe's largest automaker threatened strikes against layoffs and possible plant closures.

Business • 25 Sep 24

Germany's Economy Minister Robert Habeck said wants to help Volkswagen get through its of cost-cutting measures without site closures

German economy minister offers help to Volkswagen

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said today that he wants to help Volkswagen get through a period of cost-cutting without having to resort to site closures, reflecting concerns about the country's biggest carmaker.

Business • 20 Sep 24

The anti-subsidy tariffs are on top of the EU's standard 10% duty on car imports

Volkswagen's CUPRA 'at risk' from planned EU tariffs

An electric vehicle made in China by Volkswagen's CUPRA brand would be "wiped out" if the European Commission followed through with planned import tariffs of 21.3% on the vehicle, the brand's CEO told Reuters.

Business • 03 Sep 24

Former Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn was in court in Germany today

Former VW chief goes on trial nine years after dieselgate

Former Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn appeared in court today on fraud charges over the so-called dieselgate scandal, nine years after the German carmaker was found to have rigged emissions tests.

Business • 03 Sep 24

VW considers one large vehicle plant and one component factory in Germany to be obsolete

Volkswagen considers historic German plant closures

Volkswagen is considering closing factories in Germany for the first time, in a move that shows the mounting price pressure Europe's top carmaker faces from Asian rivals.

Business • 03 Sep 24

Analysts have in the past named VW sites in Osnabrueck, in Lower Saxony and Dresden, in Saxony, as potential targets for closure.

Volkswagen warns of German plant closures

Volkswagen is considering closing factories in Germany for the first time, in a move that shows the pressure Europe's top carmaker is facing from cheap Asian competition.

Business • 02 Sep 24

A Volkswagen spokesperson declined to comment on internal plans.

Volkswagen delays launch of Trinity EV further

Volkswagen has pushed back the launch of a new ID.4 model from its next generation Trinity EV project to the early 2030s as part of a reshuffling of plans for the delayed programme, a person close to the company has said.

Business • 13 Aug 24

Volkswagen said its second-quarter earnings before interest and taxes came in at €5.46 billion, from €5.6 billion the same time last year

Volkswagen warns cost-cutting phase not over

Volkswagen has today warned that its cost cutting period was not over and would last beyond the second half of 2024, as its second-quarter operating profit fell amid higher costs.

Business • 01 Aug 24

Porsche cuts outlook, warns of alloy shortage impairments

Porsche has cut its sales and profitability outlook due to an unexpected aluminium alloy supply shortage, sending shares in the German sports car maker 5% lower.

Business • 23 Jul 24

Deliveries in China were down by nearly 20% amid a wider decline in sales of combustion engine cars

Volkswagen under pressure as China sales fall

Volkswagen shares slipped today after an overnight profit warning triggered in part by the possible closure of an Audi plant and a 3.8% drop in second quarter sales dented by China.

Business • 10 Jul 24

VW & Renault end talks to develop affordable EV - sources

Volkswagen has walked away from talks with Renault to jointly develop an affordable electric version of the Twingo car, two sources familiar with the situation said, in a setback for the EU carmakers' efforts to fend off Chinese rivals.

Business • 17 May 24

Volkswagen said its deliveries to customers rose 12% to 9.24 million vehicles in 2023

Volkswagen sees slowdown in car sales growth

Volkswagen expects a 3% rise in its car sales this year, down sharply from 2023 amid a gloomy economic outlook and growing competition.

Business • 13 Mar 24