Car industry VW rejects union's wage demand

Volkswagen has rejected the wage demands of the IG Metall trade union. Instead, the German car manufacturer is threatening to cut wages.

"Instead of cost burdens, we need cost relief," said VW negotiator Arne Meiswinkel, Head of Human Resources for the core Volkswagen brand, after the first round of negotiations in Hanover. "This will also require a contribution from the employees."

According to the union, this would effectively amount to a negative round. "You have to interpret it that way," said Thorsten Gröger, IG Metall's chief negotiator, after the end of the three-hour talks. IG Metall is demanding a seven percent wage increase for VW and the entire industry.

According to IG Metall, there was also no rapprochement in the dispute over possible plant closures and redundancies. "This was not specified in concrete terms, but remained general," said Gröger.

A new negotiation date has not yet been agreed. However, Gröger hopes that this will take place before the end of November.

SDA