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Which Volkswagen factories in Germany could be hit by layoffs or closed?

Volkswagen prepares to shut a minimum of 3 factories in Germany, the carmaker's works council head said on Monday, without specifying which plants would be affected but saying this would suggest layoffs of countless personnel.

Volkswagen stated in early September it plans to end its job security program - which has been in place since 1994 and avoids task cuts till 2029 - as it deals with pressure from Asian rivals.

Germany's most effective union IG Metall had formerly recognized the following German factories as possibly impacted by Volkswagen ending its job security scheme, while experts have in the past called VW sites in Osnabrueck and Dresden, as prospective targets for closure.

All are in the north-western state of Lower Saxony, apart from the Kassel plant which is in Hesse, in main Germany, and Dresden in the eastern German state of Saxony.

BRUNSWICK

Volkswagen's earliest plant employed about 7,400 workers since 2022, in a city of about 250,000 people. It produces components such as front and rear axles, steering and battery systems as well as equipment, devices, tools and moulds. It has actually also been making batteries for Volkswagen's brand-new modular electric drive matrix MEB lorries given that 2019.

EMDEN

Founded in 1964 to take advantage of its nearby seaport, the plant initially specialised in producing the VW Beetle, it now makes models such as the VW Passat and the VW electric ID.4.

More than 8,000 workers operate at the factory, which produces around 180,000 automobiles a year, compared to a. population of around 50,000 in the city of Emden.

HANOVER

The factory uses around 14,000 individuals in Lower Saxony, a. area of 8 million which is likewise Volkswagen's second largest. investor.

It is where production of the VW 'Bulli' started in 1956 and. now produces the sixth-generation T-Series of the camper van,. making up vans and minivans, in addition to the Amarok pickup.

Apart from automobiles, it likewise makes parts such as cylinder. heads and inlet manifolds.

KASSEL

Part of the Volkswagen group considering that 1958, the Kassel plant is. VW's greatest components plant worldwide and produces more than. four million handbook and automated transmissions a year.

The plant is the biggest employer in northern Hesse,. Volkswagen says, using around 16,500 people. The overall. population of Kassel is around 200,000.

The components produced in Kassel are used in the core VW. brand name, in addition to in Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, SEAT, Audi,. Škoda, Porsche and Lamborghini cars.

SALZGITTER

Opened in 1970 for the production of VW's K70 design, the. factory in Salzgitter employed around 7,500 workers as of 2023,. in a city of just over 100,000 people.

It now makes engine versions as well as elements. for electric lorries, and Volkswagen announced a 2 billion euro. ($ 2.21 billion) investment in 2021 to change the primary engine. plant into the primary battery cell plant for the group.

WOLFSBURG

The large plant in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony is at the heart of. the group's production and is Volkswagen's headquarters.

VW states the plant, which covers an area around the exact same size. as 910 soccer pitches, uses approximately 70,000 people.

Developed in 1938, shortly after the company was founded. under the Nazis, it produced nearly half a million automobiles in. 2023, including the VW Golf.

DRESDEN

Opened in 2001, Volkswagen's factory in Dresden, Saxony,. employed, as of December 2023, 340 individuals, consisting of trainees. and those on dual work and research study programmes.

Having actually produced automobiles such as the sedan Phaeton and the. Bentley Flying Spur, it pivoted to electrical lorries in 2017,. starting with the e-Golf, and now producing its ID.3 design.

OSNABRUECK

In 2009, Volkswagen took control of the former Karmann factory,. which now produces lorries and body parts for the VW, Skoda,. Porsche, and Bentley brand names. This site specialises in. small-series production, such as convertibles and roadsters.

The Porsche Cayman, Porsche Boxster, and T-Roc Cabriolet are. made in Osnabruck, a city with around 160,000 citizens. The. plant's 2,300 workers work throughout the entire automobile value. chain, from technical advancement to tool and plant building and construction. to lorry production.

However Porsche has actually revealed plans to develop the next generation. of the Cayman and Boxster designs at its Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. plant, and Volkswagen will stop production of the T-Roc. Cabriolet next year, creating a potential production issue for. Osnabrueck.

(source: Reuters)