In the 2026 works council elections, IG Metall has so far secured around 75 percent of the seats in its sectors. With votes counted from about half of the companies, this indicates a slight increase for “Team IG Metall” compared to the last election in 2022 (71.9 percent).
The proportion of women has increased—and, above all, the proportion of younger works council members: 15 percent are between 18 and 35 years old. Thirty-eight percent of works council members were elected for the first time.
The elections concluded on May 31. The final results of the 2026 works council elections will be available in the fall.
“In difficult times, when many companies are facing economic challenges and asking a lot of their workforces, our colleagues at IG Metall have expressed their confidence,” explains Christiane Benner, First Chair of IG Metall. “The results so far show that our colleagues at IG Metall in the workplaces are doing a damn good job, even in these difficult times. They are close to the people. That pays off.”
Selected results from larger companies:
- Airbus: 79% – 132 out of 167 seats went to IG Metall
- Audi: 85% – 80 out of 94 seats went to IG Metall
- BMW: 73% – 172 out of 236 seats went to IG Metall
- Bosch (13 locations to date): 91% – 226 out of 247 seats went to IG Metall
- Mercedes: 72% – 153 out of 213 seats went to IG Metall
- Volkswagen: 85% – 304 out of 359 seats went to IG Metall
Right-wing lists play hardly any role
There is no sign of a shift to the right in the workplaces. At the VW electric car plant in Zwickau, for example—where some media outlets had even predicted a right-wing upheaval—IG Metall won 29 out of 35 seats.
“In some places, right-wing or alternative slates won votes. That’s not unusual,” says Benner. “As IG Metall, we always want to win people over with our platform and ourworks council members. If a few percent of the vote goes to other slates, that’s regrettable for us, but it’s not the end of the world. We’re not going to let up now—quite the opposite. There are still many colleagues to convince and many workplaces to win over.”
How IG Metall Prepares New Works Council Members for Their Roles
38 percent of works council members were elected for the first time. To prepare the “newcomers” for their roles, IG Metall offers the “BR kompakt” training series, which includes a basic seminar and six in-depth modules. Afterward, works council members can specialize in hundreds of seminars—for example, in law, economics, IT, AI, occupational health and safety, or work design.
Each year, around 25,000 works council members participate in IG Metall seminars.
