DECLINE IS A CHOICE: ‘A very serious situation’: Volkswagen could close plants in Germany for the first time in history.

Volkswagen is weighing whether to close factories in Germany for the first time in its 87-year history as it moves to deepen cost cuts amid rising competition from China’s electric vehicle makers.

In a statement Monday, the German automaker, one of the world’s biggest car companies, said that it could not rule out plant closures its home country. Other measures to “future-proof” the company include trying to terminate an employment protection agreement with labor unions, which has been in place since 1994.

“The European automotive industry is in a very demanding and serious situation,” said Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume. “The economic environment became even tougher, and new competitors are entering the European market. Germany in particular as a manufacturing location is falling further behind in terms of competitiveness.

Previously: Germany is facing the problem of creeping deindustrialization.

Germany is facing the problem of creeping deindustrialization. This was warned by Gunnar Gröbler, CEO of the Salzgitter steel company, the Financial Times reports.

If producers of key products needed for industry, such as steel and chemicals, leave the region due to high energy prices, there is a risk of losing the entire value chain, he said.

These comments come after 32% of industrial companies surveyed told the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) in August 2023 that they preferred to invest abroad rather than expand domestically. The number is twice as high as in last year’s survey amid concerns about the future without cheap Russian gas.

Salzgitter’s remarks also come at a difficult time for German industry, when several major climate projects have been called into question due to the country’s budget crisis.

Just like the immigration crisis, Berlin knew exactly what would happen and plowed ahead.