The CEO of Germany’s Volkswagen Group has called the situation at the company’s flagship brand, VW, “alarming,” days after plans for budget cuts and possible factory closures in its home market sparked outrage among workers.
Oliver Blume wrote in the Sunday edition of the Bild newspaper that radical changes are needed to ensure the car manufacturer’s survival.
Fewer vehicles are being bought in Europe, Blume said, while new competitors from Asia are entering the market.
“The pie has gotten smaller and we have more guests at the table,” he added.
The European auto industry is facing unprecedented challenges, Blume argued. “And economic conditions have deteriorated again, especially for the VW brand.”
Despite the recession, Volkswagen will not abandon its home country, Blume promised.
“We are determined to use Germany as a location because Volkswagen has shaped entire generations. We have employees whose grandfathers also worked at Volkswagen. I want their grandchildren to be able to work here too.”
Volkswagen has never closed a factory in Germany, and has not closed one anywhere in the world since 1988.
However, disappointing sales figures have prompted management to consider far-reaching reforms, angering the company’s employees.
About 25,000 employees gathered this week at Volkswagen headquarters in the northern city of Wolfsburg to listen to management’s defense of the proposed cuts.
