High demand for the Golf means that Volkswagen management has called for production to continue during the usual Wolfsburg plant shutdown in August, but the head of the works council, Bernd Osterloh, has reacted angrily to the idea.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Workers are already doing extra shifts to meet demand for the car. Around 2,000 Golfs are produced each day at Wolfsburg, and the company wants to produce 4,500 more during the three-week ‘shutdown’ period, according to dpa-AFX news. This would require between 800 and 1,200 workers to do additional shifts.


Osterloh is particularly angered by the fact that he has heard about the need for additional shifts through the media, and not directly from management. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn was quoted as saying, “We are planning additional production during the plant shutdown period in August.”


Osterloh said that workers are happy to do everything they can to help meet customer demand as quickly as possible but of August shutdown work he said: “We have not seen such chaos for a long time.”


Osterloh added that it is just four weeks until the summer shutdown and workers will have already made holiday plans. Reorganisation and maintenance works were planned for the plant during the shutdown.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

According to dpa-afx, Gold demand is up 2.3% compared to a year ago. 178,000 cars have been delivered to customers in Europe in the first five months of the year.


The latest disagreement between the works council and management follows a long dispute last year over the need to improve productivity on the Golf. The works council had to accept changes to working hours for no additional pay, and job losses, but has always said that productivity also comes down to management.