Car expert: VW agreement has a bitter taste for Saxony

According to car expert Werner Olle, the planned cutbacks at VW sites in Saxony will have negative consequences for the region in the medium term. The network of suppliers and service providers will also be severely affected, the head of the Chemnitz Automotive Institute told the German Press Agency. "The agreement has avoided industrial action, which is an important result. But a carefree Christmas looks different."

In view of the crisis at Europe's largest car manufacturer, the company had reached a compromise after days of negotiations with IG Metall. This provides for 35,000 jobs to be cut across Germany. There will be no plant closures or compulsory redundancies. How many jobs will be lost in Saxony cannot currently be quantified, said Olle.

Zwickau to lose ID models

According to the compromise, all three VW sites in the Free State will be retained. However, vehicle production at the Gläserne Manufaktur will cease at the end of 2025. Since the beginning of 2021, around 330 employees have been assembling the ID.3 there in small quantities - around 6,000 vehicles per year. An alternative concept is to be developed for the period after 2025.

The Zwickau vehicle plant, which currently employs around 9,200 people, will also have to make sacrifices. It will have to give up the production of ID models and the Cupra born and concentrate on one production line. The Audi Q4 e-tron "and corresponding product upgrades" will remain, according to information sent by IG Metall to its members. According to the information, no changes are planned for the Chemnitz engine plant. Unlike the Zwickau and Dresden sites, it is still dependent on combustion engine production.

Olle spoke of a massive cut for the Dresden and Zwickau sites. "The year 2025 will initially remain unaffected, the conversion will begin in 2026." From 2027, Zwickau would then only produce electric cars exclusively for the Audi brand on one line. The two current models there would only account for just under half of production.

"It's no wonder that this leaves a bitter taste in Saxony - the pioneer of e-mobility for the VW brand has done its duty," said the expert. The additional goal mentioned for Zwickau - developing new business areas in the field of recycling management - still has no substance.

CDA: "Lazy compromise at the expense of the East"

Sharsh criticism comes from politicians. "The decision by Volkswagen and IG Metall is a lazy compromise at the expense of the East," criticized Alexander Krauß, state chairman of the CDU employee wing CDA. The savings should have been distributed more responsibly across all plants in Germany. "We demand a clear commitment to the sites in Saxony and their employees. Anything else would be the death of both Chemnitz and Zwickau."

The Chairwoman of the BSW parliamentary group in the state parliament, Sabine Zimmermann, spoke of a "tough compromise" for the employees and sites in Saxony. "The employees are shouldering the most difficult phase at VW. The future will show whether the Board of Management will remember this later." She quickly called for a future concept for the Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden. The agreement also has a "bitter aftertaste" for Zwickau. "It remains to be seen whether the planned battery recycling plant will save the jobs of existing employees."