Volkswagen's Management of Talking Down the German Industrial Site and Failing to Provide Clear Prospects for Its Domestic Plants

Belit Onay, the Green politician who serves as Oberbürgermeister of Hannover, said it cannot be true that the board of a German company is giving up on Germany as an industrial location without a fight. "We don't need a board that constantly repeats like a mantra that we have to cut, save and eliminate jobs. We need people who can develop a clear perspective," he said.

Onay expressed frustration with the VW supervisory board's decision on Wednesday evening to intensify its cost-cutting program, as well as with the company's communication. "You can really talk a product down, and that's what the board is doing right now by constantly fueling these debates," he said. "We have now extended the discussion by a few months or a year.

No security has been created for the site itself. In Hannover-Stöcken, VW builds commercial vehicles such as the ID. Buzz.

Onay sees great potential there in the future because the plant serves a segment that is not in direct competition with the Chinese market. "Chinese producers are not that strong there yet. He called it "absolutely incomprehensible" that VW is not using this expertise.

A possible reorientation of the plant toward the defense industry, as could happen at the VW plant in Osnabrück, is not on the horizon in Hannover, according to the mayor. "That is a sham debate at the moment. We have no indications at all as to which companies or which products those should be," he said.

"The Hannover site of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is designed for civilian vehicles. Onay also warned of the consequences if the plant in Hannover were to close. "If this site continues to be talked down and further damaged, then that would naturally have an immense social impact, he said.

Around 12,200 people work at VW in Hannover alone, with suppliers adding to that number. For the site, that would be massive damage.