“Hubris”, “arrogance”, “certainties”. This is how we talk during the fall of Volkswagen, in Wolfsburg, this city created especially to host the first factories and employees of the famous German manufacturer, in 1938, between Berlin and Hannover, in the Land of Lower Saxony (northwest). This city of 126,000 inhabitants, unique of its kind, still houses the largest automobile factory in the world, on which it depends almost entirely since half of the population works there. To the point that Wolfsburg is sometimes nicknamed “Autostadt”“the city of the car”.
With its four immense red brick chimneys proudly dominating the Mittelkanal, its thousands of vehicles lined up in the parking lot, its museums, its streets and its merchandise shops with the distinctive blue “VW”, the place has remained for the time being closed and closed. Planned layoffs at other factories across the country. Wolfsburg remains the most prosperous city in Germany, the one where salaries are the highest in the country: 46 euros per hour on average. A showcase of “made in Germany”, this label synonymous with manufacturing quality and good wages. But the concern It is palpable.
The manufacturer, Germany’s largest industrial employer, did not see the tipping point for electric cars and plans to close three factories across the Rhine for the first time in its history. “This crisis is much more serious than previous ones”laments Dennis (who did not want to give his name), a 50-year-old worker, half of whom works in the factory, who smokes brown cigarettes at the counter of the Bar du Tunnel, before starting his shift. “We have been manufacturing combustion vehicles for more than a hundred years, but suddenly it was over. »
“Damaged symbol”
All workers know: it is not just about the factory. Volkswagen is a « Germany in miniature, describes Dirk Wagner, the chaplain of Wolfsburg, which welcomes the manufacturer’s employees. It is the symbol of the economic miracle of post-war Germany.. And his dreams of power and greatness, of yesterday and today. “Volkswagen is a substitute identity for the Germans, explains sociologist Stephan Grünewald, director of the Rheingold opinion institute. After the war, we looked for national symbols to celebrate: the German mark, the national football team and Volkswagen. For German society it is terrifying that such a symbol is damaged. »
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