Volkswagen workers worry about future as they stage warning strikes

euronews (in English)

Thousands of workers at Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg launched warning strikes on Monday, with the works council accusing shareholders of prioritising billions in profits while workers face job insecurity and potential layoffs.

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00:00Thousands of workers at Germany's Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg began warning strikes

00:05on Monday morning. The Works Council slammed shareholders for prioritizing billions of

00:11euros profit as workers faced job insecurity and mass layoffs.

00:30The mood in Wolfsburg is sombre as talks between the union and VW are set to continue next

00:47I've been a member of VW for over 40 years now.

00:50I'm now in the so-called old-time phase, the passive phase.

00:55But I've also been a long-time member of EG Metall and I was also a confidant.

01:01And of course I'm connected to the region, to the Volkswagen company.

01:04And I'm also very affected. I'm also worried about the future of the city,

01:09the future of the region, other regions that are affected, also in the workshops,

01:13our colleagues, our children, where they learn, where they work in the future.

01:17That's very depressing.

01:19Nine out of ten VW plants located across Germany joined the strike as the car company plans

01:25to shut three plants, terminate thousands of employees and slash wages by 10% in a bid

01:31to save cash as consumer demand for cars is stuck in neutral.

01:35But declining sales are not just hitting Germany. Italy, France and Belgium are also reporting

01:41a dramatic slump in sales which could lead to a deeper crisis within the Eurozone.

01:47Liv Stroud in Wolfsburg for Euronews.

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