Volkswagen Workers Stage 2-Hour Warning Strike Against Proposed Wage Cuts and Plant Closures

Volkswagen workers in Germany have initiated two-hour strikes at nine plants to emphasize their resistance against the pay cuts and factory closures deemed necessary by the company to cope with the stagnation in the European car market. The walkouts included the company's main factory in Wolfsburg, where workers gathered in opposition to management's efforts to reduce costs while facing the threat of the company's first factory closure in its home country. Volkswagen argues that it needs to bring costs in Germany down to the levels reached by its competitors and its factories in Eastern Europe and South America. Daniela Cavallo, the chief representative of the workers, stated that the burden of management's failures in developing attractive products and finding a cheaper, entry-level electric vehicle should not fall on the employees.