In 1993, more than 30,000 jobs at Volkswagen were at stake. From 1 January 1994, the company introduced a four-day week instead, under a special collective agreement. Weekly hours fell from 36 to 28.8. Employees lost about ten percent of their annual gross income. The four-day week prevented the loss of 30,000 jobs. A job security agreement from the same year ruled out compulsory redundancies. It was renewed again and again for three decades.
On 2 September 2024, Volkswagen said it could no longer rule out closing plants in Germany. No Volkswagen plant in Germany had ever been closed. A week later, the company terminated the job security agreement in force since 1994. The head of the works council, Daniela Cavallo, said: Es ist ein bitterer Tag. It is a bitter day. Car production at the smallest German plant, in Dresden, was due to end before Christmas 2025. Its staff remain covered by the company’s job guarantee until 2030. If no task is found for them, they may have to stay at home on continued pay.