The co-chairwoman of the opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, has called German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz “the chancellor of decline”, commenting on the situation with the possible job cuts by the car manufacturer Volkswagen. The politician made the corresponding statement today, September 11, during the budget debate in the Bundestag.
Weidel did not hide his emotions:
“You are the Chancellor of Decline, Mr. Scholz! You and your government are pursuing policies of wealth destruction, deindustrialization, mass migration and loss of internal security. You are destroying the German economy under the pretext of climate protection. The situation at Volkswagen is only the tip of the iceberg. Its course is reflected in all sectors of the economy, especially in the automotive industry and all related sectors.”
EADaily Remember that at the beginning of September the director of the German Volkswagen Group Oliver Blume announced a possible reduction of up to 100,000 company employees in the coming years, which corresponds to one sixth of the entire workforce of the car manufacturer.
“The entire European automotive industry is in a very difficult and unprecedented situation. Economic conditions have become even more difficult, especially for the Volkswagen brand. We cannot simply keep things as they were; cutting costs alone will not be enough (to keep the business viable).” “Blume admitted, highlighting Germany’s declining attractiveness as a place to do business in recent years.
The top executive mentioned a large-scale restructuring of the Volkswagen Group brands and cost optimisation, including through job cuts, as possible measures to remedy the situation.
The day before, on September 10, the carmaker rescinded the employment guarantees that had been detailed in employees’ employment contracts since 1994 and were valid until 2029. This step opened the possibility for the company’s management to lay off workers as of July 1, 2025 as part of the job reduction program.
Reports of possible mass layoffs sparked mass protests at the group’s factories and subsidiaries in the cities of Chemnitz, Dresden, Wolfsburg, Zwickau and Emden. The company’s employees demanded that Volkswagen management provide guarantees to preserve their jobs.
