Audi seeks to renegotiate job protections as crisis deepens

Audi wants to reopen its employment agreement with workers, saying worsening economic conditions meet the threshold for an early review. The Ingolstadt-based carmaker told BR it had invoked a clause allowing the company and works council to resume talks sooner than planned.

Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner said the company wanted to begin discussions with employee representatives as soon as possible. The clause allows talks on working conditions and costs if the company’s economic situation deteriorates.

The March 2025 agreement rules out compulsory redundancies until December 31, 2033, and protects monthly collectively agreed pay and allowances. In return, Audi plans to cut 7,500 jobs by 2029 through socially responsible measures such as phased retirement. The company said it was on track to meet that target.

Döllner said there were no specific plans for further job cuts and that it was too early to give figures or a timetable. Audi said this week it would lend employees to defence companies.

A works council spokesperson said it would first assess whether the conditions for invoking the clause had been met. The council also wants to see Audi’s proposed measures and demands before entering negotiations.

Employees are being briefed at regular works meetings. Audi held one at its Neckarsulm plant on Thursday, with a meeting at Ingolstadt scheduled for Friday behind closed doors.

The German car industry has faced mounting pressure. Audi’s parent company Volkswagen is pursuing a major cost-cutting programme, with more than 100,000 jobs potentially at risk worldwide and plant closures under discussion. The article also cites US tariffs of 25 percent on many imported cars and parts, as well as tougher competition from Chinese manufacturers including BYD and MG. Automakers say they need profits to fund the shift to electric mobility and new technologies.