Volkswagen Scraps Jobs Guarantees at Six German Auto Plants

Negotiations between Volkswagen management and IG-Metall union had been due to start in October, with strikes looming before Christmas.

A worker wears a protective mask at the Volkswagen assembly line after VW re-starts Europe's largest car factory after coronavirus shutdown in Wolfsburg, Germany, on April 27, 2020. Swen Pfoertner/Pool via Reuters

Volkswagen has given the IG Metall trade union notice it is scrapping labor agreements, including a promise not to make redundancies at six German auto plants before 2029.

The move was made after the company’s management warned earlier this month that it could shut plants in Germany for the first time since Volkswagen was founded in 1937.