VW savings plans: Employees in fear and anger-resistance forms

VW savings plans: Employees in fear and anger-resistance forms

The Volkswagen Group is faced with an internal crisis that puts both the company members and political decision-makers into stir. The announcement of extended austerity measures has created a troubling mood in the works. Many employees feel unsettled by this development and are both angry and worried about their professional future.

The new savings plans, which could also include potential factory closures, arouse fear of lost jobs among employees. These measures were referred to by Daniela Cavallo, the works council chief, as an attack on employment security and existing collective agreements. The works council has announced that it will make bitter resistance to the plans and to fight for the rights of employees.

The reactions of the employees

An employee from the Wolfsburg work got the general unrest in a nutshell: "Everyone at VW is now afraid." This nervousness can be felt in all German works. In an interview, a colleague from Kassel said that many employees are concerned about their livelihood after they had built up something for years. "It is a disaster here and is getting worse," said a data subject.

The emotional burden that these announcements bring with it is clearly described by many employees. A mechanic in Zwickau described her emotional chaos: "On the one hand, you just have the worst anger in our stomach, because we said all the time that something is not going here. But at the same time you are afraid. You have a house, a family that you have to eat."

mismanagement or necessary measures?

An important topic that comes up again and again in the talks among the employees is the responsibility of corporate management. A employee from Kassel said: "The bosses build shit and we bathe it out", which indicates that employees want to express their dissatisfaction with the decisions of the group management. Many consider management to be responsible because they have the impression that this places more emphasis on the satisfaction of the shareholders than that of the employees.

The employees also refer to the challenge that the transition to electric vehicles brings. Many of them believe that the changeover from the traditional internal combustion engines to electric cars was driven too rapidly and that the transitional times were not sufficiently taken into account. One employee states: "The transitional times were too tight, as well as when it comes to exit from nuclear power."

The situation at Volkswagen is an example of the difficulties with which large companies are faced with if they have to adapt to new technologies and markets. However, the reactions of the employees clearly show that the pressure of corporate management and the uncertainties in relation to jobs lead to increased emotional stress and bring employees into a desperate location.

These developments are also perceived in the political landscape, where sharp criticism of the austerity measures and the associated feeling of uncertainty in the workforce becomes sound. At a time when the economy and social standards have to be redefined, the fate of the Volkswagen employees is a depressing example of the challenges that both companies and their employees face.