Volkswagen boss wants to close European factories
https://www.arenaev.com/volkswagen_boss_wants_to_close_european_factories-news-3892.php
by oblio-
Volkswagen boss wants to close European factories
https://www.arenaev.com/volkswagen_boss_wants_to_close_european_factories-news-3892.php
by oblio-
34 comments
Protectionism is kind of bad, but companies are becoming completely dumb these days. I guess they want to move everything to China and in case something goes sideways, Mr. VW CEO, what will your company do when China nationalizes your factories??? I guess you’ll be long gone with your tens of millions of euros.
VW ICE cars seems to be following a path similar to what Nokia Mobile Phone Handsets did few decades ago..
mind you this: VW is still making profit and had one slightly bad year. Close the EU plants then we can finally get on with buying chinese cars…
I mean if Volkswagen also wants to lose it’s political influence, sure go ahead.
We’ve seen that happen to British car industry and later to Swedish. I think it is just an indicator of much bigger problems in the economy of developed countries. At some point they decided to let big companies borrow more money to cover inefficiency of their management. But sooner or later the price had to be paid for that. And it looks like the time is nigh.
And yeah, there will always be some CEO or president or central banker ready to make next step towards the drop because it is much easier than to start climbing up.
Europe was a major tech-hub, and then lost it
Europe then became a major mobile hub, and then lost it too
Now I guess it’s the turn of their cars
I was just reading today an article about Mercedes, Volkswagen and BMW spending billions to expand in China
> On September 4th, the Mercedes-Benz Group announced their intention to invest more than 14 billion yuan (2 billion USD) with local partners to expand its product lineup in China. Starting from 2025, Mercedes-Benz will begin production of the China-exclusive all-electric long-wheelbase CLA model, long-wheelbase GLE SUV, and a new luxury electric MPV based on the VAN.EA platform.
…
Other German auto giants are also increasing their investments in China. Volkswagen invested 2.7 billion USD to expand their Volkswagen Anhui operations. They are also in the midst of building two new EV models in collaboration with Xpeng. BMW, similarly, is investing an additional 20 billion yuan (2.8 billion USD) in its Shenyang production base. Its the total investment in the plant rose up to 105 billion yuan (14.7 billion USD).
https://carnewschina.com/2024/09/05/mercedes-commits-to-china-with-a-2-billion-usd-investment-to-compete-with-local-rivals/
It would be funny if those abandoned German factories were bought by the Chinese
Give back all subsides you get from goverment/EU and then go ahed move your business to china. Its time to finally regulate all those grants big corporations get from years. You got benefits from goverment – you need to pay if off. Its so fck up that they privatise profits but socialize losses.
I would never in a trillion years support a company that abandons thousands of its workers in europe just so that they can make a quick buck in china. Not to mention that their already diminishing quality control will go furher down the shitter.
It’s the pricing. For example, ID7 in Portugal starts at €61k., and its pretty basic.
You can get a Model Y for €45k (RW) full options.
Import tariffs should resolve that, unless they want to just lose the entire European market.
Damn. Yes do that. Pass the whole technology to China. Fuck it. Who cares if they copy cat your solutions. Clever idea mr ceo
Buy those factories, hire the people recently fired, create a new public car manufacturer. Stop giving subsidies to VW.
Go down wankers, no sane german will miss you! 😙
That would surely end well for them, right?
I guess he will still wants the EU subsidiaries even after they are not producing cars in the EU.
Shareholderism, with its singular focus on maximizing shareholder value, has become a myopic model of capitalism, prioritizing short-term gains over long-term sustainability. The relentless pursuit of immediate profits leads companies to sacrifice investments in research and development, neglect employee well-being, and exploit resources without considering the long-term consequences.
This short-sighted approach stifles innovation, hampers economic growth, and contributes to social and environmental degradation. The obsession with quarterly earnings and stock prices creates a distorted view of success, rewarding companies for short-term financial performance even at the cost of long-term value creation.
Shareholderism’s narrow vision fails to recognize that true value lies in long-term sustainability, ultimately leading to a decline in competitiveness, a widening wealth gap, and a deteriorating planet.
Hitler wouldn’t want this when he created VW
How little you understand here. The company stock is at PE 3.24, I think the lowest in the car industry. CEOs are only focusing on shareholder value and corporate profit. Why are they given such amazing stock packages? Am I to tell what’s going to happen?
VW will cut workforce. They will pay severance through a corporate debt valued at 4% a year. This is a one off payment, now the narrative is different: “VW is a profit making agile company”.
Shareholders are amazed, CEO opens champagne on his newly bought yacht. Leaders of VW union are happy, their dicks got sucked in Barcelona to make them agree for this (this really happened: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-458819/Volkswagen-threw-orgies-MPs-union-officials.html).
Closure of a factory will possibly destroy and deindustrialise a city in a long-run. Guy who performed the job moved out of the city and got a salary raise. The city in which VW was a major employer struggles with crime and alcoholism (and drugs if this is in USA).
As VW narrative has changed, they can grow again. In 2 years the sam CEO opens 3 new factories with taxpayer money. Stocks go up again. As VW has better prospects rate on their bonds go down.
Welcome to the world of corporate reorgs. I threw up twice while writing this.
With this history, and in this geopolitical climate, this is basically high treason.
Fuck ’em. Hope they get their factories nationalized by the Chinese.
Import fees should be increased to china so this doesnt happen. this literally doesnt benefit ANYONE except china and VW CEO.
regular VW workers will lose thousands of jobs at factories, european countries will lose a significant part of their economy, and also car factories are kinda strategic resources as these same factories would be making trucks and armored vehicle parts during any conflict
Well weren’t people in the other thread where DB CEO asked Germans to work more complaining about having to work for someone richer than them?
Good riddance! VW going away means the people can enjoy not working!
“wants”.
Well, they dont want to, they would like to make new ones… but they have to.
Surely the cars will become cheaper for the buyer, right?
…right?
Time not to choose VW as your next car, folks
Let’s face it. VW (and other European manufacturers) have lost the battle for EVs. While they were busy lobbying and cheating software, Chinese manufacturers (but also Tesla to some extent, though Tesla also produces in China) did what manufacturers should do; innovate, and find ways to make a better, more affordable product for their customers.
Now that the cheap energy party that the German industry lobbied so hard for is over as a consequence of the Ukraine war, they have no other choice than to move production to the place where it’s most efficient in order to still compete, which unsurprisingly isn’t Germany.
Relying on and protecting vested interests for too long, being overtaken because you did not progress. Something that should sound very familiar to Germans. If anything, German voters should be furious with their politicians for giving the old industries so many sweeteners, instead of providing the right incentives to innovate.
And yes, the Chinese government heavily subsidized the car industry, but don’t tell me that German manufacturers never received any support or influence from the German government. Subsidies come in many forms.
European industry is on its knees..
It’s a real shame, we use to be top of our game.
Here s your globalisation sir . Now they want to move to China or some low income country . This shit should be forbidden. I don t give a shit about the free scam market. It doesn t regulate itself
at least in europe people riot
Just marginal tarif change and theres Volkswagen no more
VW is partially owned by the German state of Lower Saxony and has huge influence on their decisions. This will be quite entertaining.
How can you justify the name then? It’s not from the Volk then. It isn’t for the Volk either, cause these rolling dumpsters cost a premium. It’s for the better incomes that value a name more then quality. A German documentary showed some Chinese people: they were asked if they could imagine to own a vw someday. One girl absolutely nailed it. She said: No, way. It’s for the generation of her father, the old guard. Why the hell should she drive it?
I think it is all for show. They want to show how bad they are doing so they can go crawling to the German government and shamelessly ask for money
From what I understand the German government has sent alot of money to VW
But now they want to flee to China.
I would not allow them or this behavior of reckless spending and management followed by fleeing to China. Should be punished.
Alot of big companies in the USA fled to China and it ruined quite a few areas who were dependent on manufacturing jobs.
As someone who’s family lost alot due to governments not wrangling in to big to fail corporations.
Don’t let them flee to foreign countries for slave labor. The biggest losers are the people.