2024-09-06 08:54:10
“Volkswagen” (Volkswagen Group) has “one, maybe two years” to stabilize the main brand of the automobile group (the “Volkswagen” brand, ed. note). This was stated today by the chief financial officer of the German automobile concern Arno Antlitz, quoted by Reuters. His words are about the fact that the brand is unable to sell 500,000 of its cars, which may force them to close some of their factories.
Arno Antlitz participated in a meeting with Volkswagen employees, which was held at the company’s headquarters in the German city of Wolfsburg.
The meeting was organized because of an announcement by the concern, which announced on Monday (September 2) that it could no longer rule out the possible release of workers and employees, as well as the closing of factories in Germany. They may be undertaken as part of a large-scale austerity plan aimed at stabilizing the Volkswagen Group’s main brand.
The company has never closed a plant in Germany, and last shut down operations at a plant outside the country in 1988. German union representatives reacted strongly to the prospect of layoffs.
Volkswagen union leader Daniela Cavallo told reporters earlier this week that she would voice her “fierce opposition” to the job cuts.
To the cheers of hundreds of Volkswagen employees who chanted – “Goodbye!”, the chief financial officer of the concern said that the European car market has shrunk since the COVID-19 pandemic. He pointed out that the car group is facing a decline in demand for the cars it produces. Volkswagen can’t sell about 500,000 cars, which is equivalent to the output of two plants, Antlitz noted.
He appealed to the employees that together with the management of the concern “they must take responsibility” for implementing a plan to cut costs. His goal is for the Volkswagen brand to survive the transition to electric mobility, says the financial director of the automotive group Arno Antlitz.
“For some time now, we have been spending more money to maintain the Volkswagen brand than we are making. This cannot continue,” Antlitz said.
“Volkswagen” and other automobile corporations are experiencing difficulties in the background of the transition to the production of electric vehicles, which is conditioned by the environmental requirements of the European Union, writes BTA. Automakers are facing a slump in demand for electric vehicles and cheap imports of Chinese electric cars, market analysts say.