Representatives of Volkswagen AG and IG Metall met this week in Hanover to discuss what was once unthinkable. The Volkswagen’s stated objective is to systematically implement the previously agreed measures and fully exhaust all options for a socially responsible headcount reduction. Given current economic challenges, Volkswagen AG has also given formal notice to terminate several collective agreements, effective 31 December 2026.
[Simply put in VW management’s view, IG Metall’s demand for a 5% pay rise at the upcoming collective bargaining round is not compatible with the current situation of the company. VW management thinks it is even more important than before that Volkswagen reduces its overhead costs and adjusts them to a competitive level. VW group operating results lend much credence to this stance. More than 100,000 union jobs are threatened – AutoCrat.]*
“In the past 18 months, there has been a massive shift in the economic environment for the automotive industry and thus also for Volkswagen. These market changes are structural in nature and deep-reaching. Among other factors, Chinese manufacturers are increasingly pushing into Europe with competitively priced exports,” said Arne Meiswinkel, Chief Human Resources Officer of the Volkswagen brand and member of the Extended Executive Committee.
2025 VW Group Financial Results Key Figures
- €321.9 billion sales revenue in 2025, on prior-year level (2024: € 324.7 billion). Sales revenue in 2025 remained largely stable compared with the previous year. environment.
- €8.9 billion € Operating Result in 2025, 53% below 2024 (€ 19.1 billion); Operating Margin of 2.8%. Decline in Operating Result was attributable to U.S. tariffs, expenses in connection with the adjustment of the Porsche product strategy, currency effects and price/mix effects. Positive effects from the implementation of the cost programs were able to partially offset these burdens.
- €14.8 billion € Operating Result before special effects in 2025. Adjusted for special effects such as restructuring expenses and expenses in connection with the adjustment of the Porsche product strategy, but including U.S. tariffs, the calculated Operating Margin amounted to 4.6% in 2025. The Operating Result before special effects and U.S. tariffs amounted to € 17.7 billion (5.5%).
- €6.4 billion € Net Cash Flow in the Automotive Division in 2025, 24% above 2024 (€
- €5.2 billion) Net Cash Flow in the Automotive Division was significantly above the prior year, due to reduced working capital and strong investment discipline; at € 34.5 billion, net liquidity at year-end was stable compared to the previous year.
- 0 million vehicle sales in 2025 on prior-year level. Significant increases in Europe (+5%) and South America (+10%) were offset by expected declines due to challenging market conditions in North America (–12%) and China (–6%).
- Order intake for vehicles in Europe increased by ~13% compared with 2024. All-electric vehicles (BEV), with an increase of around 55%, were a key driver of this development; their share of the total order bank amounted to around 22%.
“This has placed enormous pressure on prices and significantly intensified competition. We therefore need to implement the Future Plan’s measures (Group Target Picture 2030) quickly and systematically to boost our competitiveness. Given the news from the automotive sector as a whole, I think everybody understands that we need to act now,” claimed Meiswinkel.
IG Metall representative Thorsten Groeger said “This is a bad foul on the workforce and again a shameless attempt to reach into the wallets of the employees. Volkswagen is trying to unload the Group’s economic challenges at those who keep the company running every day. While profits are privatized, entrepreneurial costs and risks are now to be shifted to the workforce. We’re not going to accept that. If you want to put the employee in the bag, you have to expect a corresponding dispute.”
Daniela Cavallo, Chairman of the General Works Council of Volkswagen AG, said, “The Management Board apparently believes that it can blackmail us: simply threaten plants with the shutdown and then additionally want to enforce the next tariff cuts in the next step. But that bill won’t work out. Already in 2024, we went to the limit of what can be communicated with abandonment across all groups of employees. That won’t be repeated. But for this, we all have to make the board feel in the tariff round that it is on the wrong track. I expect a fierce debate at the turn of the year.”
[Volkswagen AG and IG Metall have agreed to meet for further talks in the second half of October. Fasten your seat belts this is going to be a rough ride – AutoCrat.]
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
VW Ending Collective Bargaining Agreements. Strikes Loom?
Representatives of Volkswagen AG and IG Metall met this week in Hanover to discuss what was once unthinkable. The Volkswagen’s stated objective is to systematically implement the previously agreed measures and fully exhaust all options for a socially responsible headcount reduction. Given current economic challenges, Volkswagen AG has also given formal notice to terminate several collective agreements, effective 31 December 2026.
[Simply put in VW management’s view, IG Metall’s demand for a 5% pay rise at the upcoming collective bargaining round is not compatible with the current situation of the company. VW management thinks it is even more important than before that Volkswagen reduces its overhead costs and adjusts them to a competitive level. VW group operating results lend much credence to this stance. More than 100,000 union jobs are threatened – AutoCrat.]*
“In the past 18 months, there has been a massive shift in the economic environment for the automotive industry and thus also for Volkswagen. These market changes are structural in nature and deep-reaching. Among other factors, Chinese manufacturers are increasingly pushing into Europe with competitively priced exports,” said Arne Meiswinkel, Chief Human Resources Officer of the Volkswagen brand and member of the Extended Executive Committee.
2025 VW Group Financial Results Key Figures
“This has placed enormous pressure on prices and significantly intensified competition. We therefore need to implement the Future Plan’s measures (Group Target Picture 2030) quickly and systematically to boost our competitiveness. Given the news from the automotive sector as a whole, I think everybody understands that we need to act now,” claimed Meiswinkel.
IG Metall representative Thorsten Groeger said “This is a bad foul on the workforce and again a shameless attempt to reach into the wallets of the employees. Volkswagen is trying to unload the Group’s economic challenges at those who keep the company running every day. While profits are privatized, entrepreneurial costs and risks are now to be shifted to the workforce. We’re not going to accept that. If you want to put the employee in the bag, you have to expect a corresponding dispute.”
Daniela Cavallo, Chairman of the General Works Council of Volkswagen AG, said, “The Management Board apparently believes that it can blackmail us: simply threaten plants with the shutdown and then additionally want to enforce the next tariff cuts in the next step. But that bill won’t work out. Already in 2024, we went to the limit of what can be communicated with abandonment across all groups of employees. That won’t be repeated. But for this, we all have to make the board feel in the tariff round that it is on the wrong track. I expect a fierce debate at the turn of the year.”
[Volkswagen AG and IG Metall have agreed to meet for further talks in the second half of October. Fasten your seat belts this is going to be a rough ride – AutoCrat.]
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.