According to Volkswagen's works council, the carmaker plans to close at least three German plants

BERLIN (AP) — Volkswagen has told employee representatives that it plans to close at least three plants in Germany, the company's works council chairman said Monday.

Works council chief Daniela Cavallo said at a meeting with Volkswagen employees at the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg that management was also planning cuts at other locations and promised to oppose the plans, the German press agency dpa reported. She said: “All German VW plants are affected by these plans. Nobody is safe.”

The company did not provide any further information of his plans. But human resources manager Gunnar Kilian said in a statement: “The fact is that the situation is serious and the responsibility of the negotiating partners is enormous,” reported the dpa.

Volkswagen said in early September that the auto industry's headwinds mean that plant closures in its home country cannot be ruled out and that it must abandon a job protection commitment in place since 1994 that would have prevented layoffs until 2029. CEO Oliver Blume referred to the entry of new competitors into European markets and the deteriorating situation of Germany as a production location and the need to “act decisively”.

“Without comprehensive measures to restore competitiveness, we will not be able to afford any significant investments in the future,” said Kilian on Monday. He added that management would stick to the principle of first discussing Volkswagen's future with internal negotiating partners.

Collective bargaining between Volkswagen and the union is scheduled to resume on Wednesday.

European automakers are facing increasing competition from inexpensive Chinese electric cars. Volkswagen said last month that the company's half-year results suggested it would not meet its goal of 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) in cost savings by 2026.

Volkswagen employs around 120,000 people in Germany and has ten plants – six of them in the northern state of Lower Saxony, including Wolfsburg.

IG Metall sharply criticized VW's reported closure plans. “We expect Volkswagen and its management to design sustainable future concepts at the negotiating table instead of fantasies of cuts,” said state union leader Thorsten Gröger.