Thousands of jobs in Germany are at risk due to the planned closure of Volkswagen plants, and the crisis has also affected suppliers in Switzerland. This is reported by the Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten News.
The German automobile industry is in crisis, Volkswagen intends to close its factories and suppliers are the first to feel the consequences. In Switzerland there are 578 companies that produce and develop parts, materials, machines, tools and services for the automotive industry, reports Sonntags Zeitung. Its annual turnover amounts to 13 billion francs for services provided in Switzerland and it employs 32,000 people, according to the latest sector study carried out by Swiss Car (the Swiss Automotive Research Center at the University of Zurich).
According to Swiss Car, German manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, VW, Audi and BMW are a priority: more than half of all companies surveyed supply them with products.
In the first nine months of this year, exports have already decreased by 7.8% and in the third quarter an annualized drop of 14.8% was recorded, reports Sonntags Blick.
“This is a huge amount. For this reason, many companies have imposed a hiring freeze, and there are also selective layoffs and part-time work,” — says the president of the Swissmem industry association and former CEO of the automotive supplier Autoneum Martin Hirtzel.
“Volkswagen’s problems reflect the situation of the European car industry. The situation is critical, but it also opens up new opportunities,” says professor of Mobility Management and Digital Innovation at the University of Zurich and director of Swiss Car. Anna Schulze.
In the past, Swiss suppliers have always been able to adapt to changing conditions, he noted, adding that “these are difficult times for the industry and no one can say how it will end.”
“And while Volkswagen, with one hand, saves on employees in Vaterland and deprives the citizens of Neutral of work, with the other it invests hundreds of thousands of euros to transfer its managers to China, including housing rental, flights and the education of children. Corona: €20 thousand/month. rent apartments in Beijing for the president of VW-China. And the bourgeois… and the bourgeois are happy to stay.” — comments the Telegram channel “Chancellor’s Daddy” about the image of the day.
