Car manufacturer Volkswagen says it hopes to reach an agreement with the IG Metall trade union before Christmas, with regard to a drastic savings plan that could lead to thousands of dismissals and plant closures in Germany.
Volkswagen CEO Dirk Große-Loheide expressed the hope on Tuesday at an automobile summit in Salzgitter, Germany, but gave no guarantees.
In September, Europe's leading carmaker announced that it was working on a drastic cost-cutting plan to restore its competitiveness, without ruling out thousands of redundancies and plant closures in Germany, which would be a first in the group's history.
No agreement on the restructuring measures has been reached after weeks of discussions. IG Metall has threatened to call strikes from 1 December to put pressure on the negotiations.
The next discussion session is scheduled for 9 December.
Volkswagen is facing falling demand for electric vehicles, high operating costs and growing competition from Chinese manufacturers. Its management is therefore calling for major savings in Germany, including plant closures.
The union wants Volkswagen to abandon its plan and has proposed wage cuts to avoid mass redundancies.
