Overview
- IG Metall organized roughly 280 rallies on Monday, September 21, and reported about 175,000 participants who marched to defend jobs and threatened factory sites across Germany.
- Volkswagen's supervisory board approved a cost plan in early September that adds about 50,000 job cuts by 2030 and the company has cut its 2026 operating margin forecast to roughly 1 percent.
- Protesters included workers from Volkswagen, Mercedes‑Benz, BMW and many suppliers, reflecting a sector‑wide slump driven by weak home demand, slower EV uptake and strong competition from Chinese manufacturers.
- Union leaders and Volkswagen works councils demanded specific policy steps such as compensatory duties on Chinese hybrids, a stronger EU subsidy framework and lower electricity prices for industry, but the federal government has not enacted those measures.
- The demonstrations raise immediate stakes for plants under review, for thousands of supplier jobs and for broader industrial policy as officials weigh reconversion options and possible EU trade and subsidy responses.