FRANKFURT — Labour leaders on Friday threatened strikes at Volkswagen from January unless Europe's top carmaker reverses the recent cancellation of its wage deals by the end of October, marking an escalation of the labour dispute, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

"We are giving the company until the end of October to withdraw this notice of termination," Thorsten Groeger of the trade union IG Metall told a press conference, according to Reuters. "Otherwise a massive process will be set in motion which, let me make this clear, will pave the way for industrial action at Volkswagen," he added.

A truce that rules out strikes at the company expires on January 1, 2027, Reuters said. IG Metall's own published position, summarised in financial-press coverage of the dispute, is that core in-house agreements were terminated effective December 31, 2026, and that the union is ready to escalate from January 1, 2027 if they are not reinstated.

Source: IG Metall via Global Banking & Finance Review

The dispute came to a head last month, when Volkswagen terminated almost all wage deals with German workers, putting long-standing labour standards including working hours and holiday pay up for renegotiation, Reuters reported.

Why it matters beyond Germany

Volkswagen is Europe's top carmaker. Reuters says it plans to cut 100,000 jobs and could close up to four plants in Germany as it faces intensifying Chinese competition, billions in tariff costs and a costly shift to electric vehicles — pressures reshaping auto jobs across Europe and supply chains worldwide.

Reuters did not report a Volkswagen response in its Friday dispatch. The end-of-October deadline set by IG Metall means the company's next move — withdraw the termination or hold its line — will decide whether talks resume or the January strike path opens.

What is solid

  • IG Metall gave Volkswagen until end-October to withdraw the wage-deal termination — Thorsten Groeger, press conference, via Reuters
  • Strike truce at Volkswagen expires January 1, 2027 — Reuters
  • Volkswagen terminated almost all wage deals with German workers last month — Reuters

What is only claimed

  • Whether strikes will actually begin in January — that depends on Volkswagen's response and further union decisions, neither of which has happened yet