BERLIN, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- German automotive giant Volkswagen and employee representatives concluded their five-day intense talks over the company's far-reaching cost-cutting plans on Friday, and agreed on involuntary layoffs or plant closures.
More than 35,000 jobs at the German sites will be cut in a "socially responsible manner by the end of 2030, Volkswagen said on Friday evening. The remaining employees are guaranteed job security until then, the carmaker said.
In addition, all of its 10 German plants will remain open for now, rather than being closed directly as previously announced. However, two smaller plants will cease car production.
In return for the company's softening of its cost-cutting measures, employees will forego direct wage increases through the end of the decade, with bonuses also set to be cut. The company hopes to save annual labor costs of 1.5 billion euros (1.57 billion U.S. dollars) until 2030.
"We had three priorities in the negotiations: lowering excess capacity at the German sites, reducing labor costs and reducing development costs to a competitive level," said Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schaefer, emphasizing that both parties have achieved workable solutions on all three issues.
The carmaker plans to reduce technical capacity at its German plants by more than 700,000 vehicles.
The week-long collective bargaining talks, initially scheduled for just two days on Monday and Tuesday, stretched far beyond expectations as disagreements over major issues persisted. The tough negotiations, the longest ever for the carmaker, lasted approximately 70 hours in total, extending late into the night on several occasions. (1 euro = 1.04 U.S. dollar) ■