Workers at nine Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) plants staged a two-hour strike today in protest against mass job losses and factory closures said to be planned by the German carmaker.
Employees congregated at Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg with demonstrations also at Hanover, where 14,000 people work.
VW, which also owns Audi, Porsche and Skoda, has been hit by a flood of EV imports from China into Europe and a slump in demand for car exports.
The group has said it wants to save €1.5 billion in costs, but the main VW workers union, IG Metall, has accused it of wanting to cut overheads by €17 billion.
VW said deliveries would not be affected by the industrial action.
The strikes at VW cap a turbulent day for Europe’s car makers with Carlos Tavares, the head of Stellantis, the Peugeot and Citroen maker, unexpectedly standing down.
Like VW, Stellantis, which also owns Vauxhall, Chrysler and Jeep, has been struggling with weak demand and lower-than-expected sales of EVs.
Tavares's departure comes less than two months after finance chief Natalie Knight stood down.