Saxony’s premier, Michael Kretschmer, has called for a cooperative effort among workers, Volkswagen management and political leaders to blunt the effects of job losses and plant downsizing at Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker. Kretschmer, who is a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative CDU party, stressed the urgency of measures to preserve competitiveness for German manufacturing.
Volkswagen is the biggest private employer in Saxony, with about 10,000 staff across three sites and many more positions in the supplier network dependent on the company. Among those facilities is the company’s all-electric factory in Zwickau, which senior managers have indicated is one of four plants that currently lack a clearly defined role beyond 2030.
"We all need to work together on this," Kretschmer told Reuters. He added: "It simply has to become better, easier, and more cost-effective to manufacture in Germany." The premier said talks held last week with Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume and Supervisory Board Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch on Zwickau’s outlook did not produce a concrete resolution.
"Our goal is to enable and maintain production in Germany and not to outsource it abroad," Kretschmer said. He urged that a decision on the plant’s future be reached within the coming months to limit damage to worker morale, support productivity and allow time to plan for possible new models.
Kretschmer pointed to several challenges he said are weighing on German manufacturing, including relatively high domestic energy costs. He also criticised the European Union’s policy trajectory on combustion-engine vehicles, noting that while the EU has eased a previously stated 2035 target, the phase-out plans remain a concern for production planning.
One potential policy measure Kretschmer suggested was expanding EU import tariff coverage to include plug-in hybrids produced in China, though he cautioned that protective measures would not address the fundamental problem. At the same time, he expressed support for Volkswagen management’s proposals to simplify corporate structures and slim down the company’s model lineup.
On labour issues, Kretschmer floated the possibility of renegotiating Volkswagen’s collective bargaining agreement to extend working hours from 35 to 40 hours per week. That proposal runs counter to a core demand of Germany’s largest union, IG Metall, which has emphasized retaining the 35-hour work week.
Contextual note: The premier framed his comments around preserving production and jobs in Saxony and enabling a smoother transition for workers, while emphasising competitive and cost considerations for manufacturing in Germany. Conversations with Volkswagen leadership did not yield a specific plan for Zwickau, and Kretschmer indicated a clear decision timeline is necessary.