WOLFSBURG/OLDENBURG (dpa-AFX) - The new collective agreements at Volkswagen are to be signed before the end of the month. The goal is to finalize the ten new and existing collective agreements by January 21, IG Metall negotiator Thorsten Groger told the Nord-West-Zeitung. Work is currently underway to incorporate the results of the collective bargaining negotiations concluded shortly before Christmas into the contracts. There should be no more changes.

After the formal conclusion of the work, the employees will then be informed in detail about the new contracts, Groger announced. This would be easier "if you can hold the signed collective agreement in your hand and tell your colleague: on page x, under point y, this and that is regulated in such a way".

Shortly before Christmas, after a long struggle, the company and the union had agreed on a restructuring program that, among other things, plans to cut 35,000 jobs in Germany by 2030 and will not raise wages. In return, VW has reinstated the previously announced job security and extended it to 2030. The planned job cuts are now to take place without layoffs. VW has around 130,000 employees at its plants in Lower Saxony, Hesse and Saxony./xma/DP/men