German VW plants on the brink of closure: protests in Zwickau and Emden

Fear and disbelief in front of the VW factories. According to BILD information, the group wants to cut a total of up to 120,000 jobs! According to internal secret documents on the “Target Image 2030”, the automotive giant is planning to “adjust personnel capacities again by around 55,000 to 70,000 employees”. However, existing agreements with employees already provide for a reduction of 50,000 jobs. Plants in Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm are under pressure. Once the current models are phased out, there is no guarantee that new vehicles will be built there.

BILD at two VW locations

BILD spoke in Zwickau (Saxony) and Emden (Lower Saxony) with workers who gathered on Thursday for shift changes to protest against the planned closures. Assembly worker Tobias Reinhardt (48) told BILD in Zwickau: “The situation is frightening. I’m worried – for myself and the whole region. We need a clear commitment to the location. Nobody talks to us. All we hear are rumors.”

“Everything is hanging in the balance”

Norah Kaltenpoth (30) is an employee in VW transport processing: “I’m a single mother of a little boy and I’m just scared. I feel like I’m on a bridge that’s about to collapse. Everything is hanging in the balance, nobody gives reliable answers. I’m not directly employed by VW, but I take care of the handling and loading of the cars that leave the factory for a transport processor. You can imagine that you find out even less.”

Six billion euros invested for nothing?

Denise Tschiersch (55) is a works councilor at the Zwickau factory, says to BILD: “The situation is simply unbelievable. We have a well-equipped factory here in Zwickau, in which six billion euros have been invested in the last few years alone. We finally need future-proof models.”

“We finally need peace and quiet again. We can’t do anything about cars and their pricing – others have to finally do their homework. The idea of ​​e-mobility wasn’t the idea of ​​the workforce either. If I leave at 54, I’m threatened with poverty in old age. But it affects the whole family. After all, my son works here too. At least I can be happy that I don’t have to pay off any loans to build a house. But no matter, restrictions are still looming,” says Torsten Ullmann (54), who works in the human resources department.

Works council member Ronny Lerche (54): “I’ve been working at VW since 1992 and have experienced the good times. Now the uncertainty is just making us sick. This is about people, entire families – we need reliability and future security.”

Punch in the face

Even before that The union and workers protested at the VW plant against the planned closure. Ingo to BILD: “I’ve been working at VW for 38 years and this is a slap in the face for us. Everything was agreed upon two years ago and now everything is being thrown out again. It doesn’t work that way. Everyone is afraid for their future.”

“I’ve been at VW for two years and decided to do an apprenticeship because I thought I had a future-proof job. Especially at my age, this is my last chance and it’s all the worse that people are now thinking about closing the plant again,” Tanja (37) told BILD in front of the plant in Emden.

Trainee Mathis van der Ploeg (18) is also very worried about his future at VW: “I’m currently doing my training at VW. My father has been working here for 45 years, and if you’re honest, you earn good money here. It would be bad if the plant were closed. I’m still young, in an emergency I’ll work on the fishing boat, but I’d actually like to work here.