Volkswagen is once again at loggerheads with the unions. The cancellation of the night shifts due to the chip shortage is the reason for the discussion. For the coming year, the Wolfsburg-based carmaker foresees a ‘volatile situation’ with regard to the supply of microchips.
Because fewer cars can be produced due to the chip shortage, Volkswagen wants to cancel night shifts on three production lines of the factory in Wolfsburg from the second quarter. Volkswagen confirms this to Bloomberg. This decision is met with resistance from the trade unions: with the cancellation of night shifts, employees on the production line lose the opportunity to earn extra money. The night shifts will only be maintained for a fourth production line, on which the Tiguan and the Seat Tarraco are built, among others.
The president of the unions therefore wants compensation. “Our employees are not responsible for the fact that we cannot make the cars due to a shortage of microchips while the order books are overflowing,” she said. Volkswagen has a response to that. “It is inevitable that we will adjust our roster to remain competitive and secure long-term jobs,” said Gunnar Kilian, Human Resources Director. “Unfortunately, this step also means cutting the workforce and eliminating the night shift with its accompanying allowance.”
Volkswagen expects that the consequences of the chip shortage will “continue to affect at least the first half of this year”. That says Murat Aksel, head of purchasing at Volkswagen, to the German Automobilwoche. According to him, it will be easier to make reliable predictions about this in 2023, because the production capacity of microchips will then be much larger. Until then, it will probably remain a compromise for Volkswagen and many other car manufacturers.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl