It's not only because they are union members, the VW strategy is set by them and even though the VW Group is poised to have some 15-18b€ profits this year the strategy executives set for the Volkswagen brand hasn't been great.
The workers are taking the fall from mismanagement while the executives are taking bonuses since the group as a whole is profitable, not really a great look and even if they weren't unionised I believe there would be quite a bit of unrest given the circumstances... Leadership needs to suffer consequences from their strategic failures somehow, it's very easy to play with other people's lives if yours won't change at all when your poor execution fails.
When you put it like that, it sounds like the union had better ideas for what to do.
But I didn't notice IG Metall screaming that VW had to introduce new models to counter the coming flood from BYD (which is opening as many factories as VW will end up closing). Did I miss anything?
I didn't miss that. They get the bonus that are being paid now on terms that were set a few years ago. The unions didn't complain then (remember that the unions have board representation). Complaining long after the contract has been signed is just shitty.
The bonuses to be paid sometime in 2026 or 2027 based on the results from the near future are unlikely to be big. It's fair to complain about those — those are negotiable now.
