VolksWagon was famously rescued by the occupying British in the post-war "British zone" in north-western Germany, and has continued uninterrrupted ever since.
But the trade unions report that their discussions with management indicate tha three German plants have to close (with job losses of at least 30,000 people), and everyone else has to take a 10% paycut.
This is devastating not just for the employees involved but for the small mittelstand companies that supply small specialised parts to the German car industry. The same goes for countries on Germany's borders, who also supply parts, like Czechia.
So what has gone wrong?
VW has been hit by a slowdown in Chinese sales (caused by the Chinese prioritising paying off home loans amidst a property crisis. To compound things, the EU has put tarrifs on imports of Chinese car parts (under the guise of protecting Eu suppliers) but which has created undue pain for VW importers.
And then there is Brexit. At the start of the Brexit negotiations, several Brexiteers asserted that "of course" the EU would give Britain good terms as the German carmakers would put pressure on the EU to maintain acces to the huge UK consumer market. Everyone laughed.
But Angela Merkel cautioned German carmakers to remain silent to help the negotiators "maintain the unity of the single market".
The hardest Brexit ensued. Britain, as a net consumer, switched from buying German marques to Teslas and Japanese EVs. The consumer gets what they want and saves money.
The Germans suffered a 30% drop in sales to the UK. They haven't been able to replace the 67 million well-heeled Brits within the EU as the Croats and the Latvians are too darn poor.
"Oh well", says Brexit Britain with a wry smile.
