Volkswagen is trying to implement a comprehensive cost-cutting programme with up to 100,000 job losses, double the amount previously planned, by 2030 and the potential contraction or closure of several plants.

  • kossa@feddit.org
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    21 days ago

    Volkswagen was a state funded company until the sixties ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

    New factories, battery research and stuff like that are heavily subsidized for German car makers as well.

    Maybe China is subsidizing more, but maybe that only speaks for sound economic decisions in China, like

    A. they have the money, apparently

    B. they subsidize future technologies instead of fabulating about e-fuels and whatnot.

    • madnificent@lemmy.world
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      21 days ago

      Volkswagen gets a lot of bad rep but as I understand it, it’s not a horrible company. They have a very strong worker union. To my understanding they can’t close a factory in Germany without a union’s approval. That in itself is a huge handicap over BYD where workers get far fewer rights.

      Volkswagen used to be one of the largest exporters from the EU. If I were a liberal foreign entity then I’d love for some dirt to stick to that. They have continued to focus on keeping their German workforce employed rather than producing everything overseas though they were proud to announce that they could do a full car development and production cycle in China a few years back so things do change.

      Not that I care too much for the brand but I find it very odd how Volkswagen is getting so much hate.

      If we want a closer apples to apples comparison, we should at least demand that our imports have been produced under the same environmental and workplace standards as we have here or better.

      • kossa@feddit.org
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        21 days ago

        it’s not a horrible company

        😅. It was literally started by Hitler himself.

        “But that was a long time ago”…yeah, well. Then give BYD some ~50ish years, by then BYD might be as righteous as Volkswagen is now…cough Dieselgate, cough.