Car industry VW terminates collective agreements - redundancies possible from July 2025

In the dispute over the new cost-cutting plans at VW, the Group is now establishing the facts: The job guarantee that has been in place since 1994 has now been terminated.

The contract will therefore expire at the end of the year, as Europe's largest car manufacturer announced on Tuesday. Six months later, compulsory redundancies will be possible, i.e. from July 2025.

In addition to the agreement on job security, which previously excluded such dismissals, several other agreements have also been terminated, including the takeover guarantee for trainees and the regulations for temporary work.

Wage negotiations brought forward

The Group intends to quickly negotiate a new arrangement with the trade union and works council, as announced by HR Director Gunnar Kilian. The aim is to agree a follow-up regulation by the time the job security expires in mid-2025.

"This period now gives us the opportunity to find solutions together with employee representatives on how we can make Volkswagen competitive and fit for the future in the long term," said Kilian according to the press release.

"The current phase is contributing to uncertainty. We can counteract this if we create future-proof prospects for our company in a timely manner," said Kilian. The collective bargaining negotiations on the VW pay scale, which were not actually scheduled to start until October, are to be brought forward and extended to include the contracts that have now been terminated. This had previously been offered by IG Metall.

Works Council announces resistance

Just over a week ago, Volkswagen announced that it would be terminating the 30-year job guarantee and would no longer rule out plant closures. However, the Group had not yet given a date for this. The works council and IG Metall trade union have been up in arms about the plans ever since.

"So now the company has made what we have been assuming for days come true," said Works Council Chairwoman Daniela Cavallo. At the same time, she reiterated her opposition to the plans. "We will put up a fierce fight against this historic attack on our jobs."

SDA