(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s biggest union said it’s willing to consider a shorter work week for Volkswagen AG employees, offering a potentially crucial concession as the carmaker weighs unprecedented plant closures.
“We would be ready to talk about something like this,” IG Metall chief Christiane Benner said at a press conference Thursday when asked whether the union would be open to a compromise such as a 4-day work week. “We are open” to constructive proposals, she added.
The opening signal could be critical for Volkswagen Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume as he navigates a clash with the powerful union over plans to consider scrapping decades-old job security agreements and closing two German plants. Benner said unions are ready to hold talks with VW sooner than had been scheduled and wants to avoid strikes.
If VW doesn’t engage in constructive talks, more than 500,000 workers could take part in strikes in late October, Thorsten Gröger, IG Metall’s top negotiator for talks with the carmaker. He emphasized the importance of honoring job security agreements that have been in place for decades.
“Job security is part of the basic consensus developed with the company specifically for times of crisis like this,” Gröger said at the same event.
The comments come a day after Europe’s biggest automaker defended its plan to consider unprecedented closures in Germany, saying weak car sales have left the company with about two factories too many. More than 20,000 workers attended an assembly in Wolfsburg on Wednesday, many jeering Blume over the plans.
Europe is in the center of a global slowdown in the EV transition after a range of countries including Germany and Sweden reduced or removed incentives. With car sales still nearly a fifth lower than pre-pandemic levels, manufacturers including VW, Stellantis NV and Renault SA are operating factories at levels analysts consider unprofitable, according to data from Just Auto.
VW last year made roughly 9 million vehicles, compared with total capacity of 14 million. Raising returns at the main VW brand has become tougher with higher logistics, energy and labor costs. The nameplate’s margin fell to 2.3% during the first half, compared to 3.8% a year ago.
(Updates with additional details throughout.)
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