VW's German workers criticize turnaround plan

BERLIN -- Volkswagen's works council is demanding more information on a cost-cutting and efficiency drive being drawn up for the automaker's core VW passenger car brand, saying employees needed more transparency from management on its plans.

VW Group said in June that the VW brand was planning to make 10 billion euros ($10.7 billion) of savings and cost cuts by 2026 to help meet a return-on-sales target of 6.5 percent.

Program milestones were to be developed and adopted in consultation with employee representatives by October, VW said at the time.

So far, no further targets have been set beyond the 6.5 percent margin, according to a statement by works council chief Daniela Cavallo at a workers meeting at the automaker's Wolfsburg plant in Germany on Tuesday.

Employee representatives were only chosen last week, Cavallo said -- with little time left to meet the October deadline.

"I call on the board to develop clear targets ... for all locations and all large entities within the brand," she said.

VW Group, whose brands include Bentley, Audi, Skoda and Seat/Cupra, is in the midst of a strategy shift aimed at proving to investors it can protect market share in the transition to electrification, particularly at its mass-market brands.

The automaker cut its sales target in July and said performance programmes must begin yielding results this year to cope with rising competition.

Speaking to workers on Tuesday, VW brand chief Thomas Schaefer said a fully-fledged package would be ready in the autumn and presented to the works council in coming weeks, adding many employees had already made good suggestions.

Schaefer was reported to have warned workers from around the globe in July that the VW brand's "roof was on fire" amid slower-than-expected electric vehicle demand, subdued consumer confidence, and rising competition. He said it was "the last wake-up call."