PRESS STATEMENT Decisions from the Auto Summit are heading in the right direction

Jörg Hofmann: “IG Metall welcomes the decisions made at today’s automotive summit. Key demands made by IG Metall have thus been addressed. Promoting regional transformation dialogues, expanding the funding framework for regional skills clusters, and establishing a Future Fund for the Automotive Industry are key building blocks for supporting the industry’s transformation, including from an employment policy perspective. Regions with significant automotive value creation need support to secure jobs and innovation during the ecological transition. The transformation will be decided in the regions.

The federal government’s support for the fund models proposed by IG Metall—such as the Best Owner Group—and its associated fundamental willingness to guarantee borrowed capital are also important signals.

But other decisions as well—such as accelerating the expansion of the charging infrastructure and promoting battery cell production, including closed-loop material cycles in battery cell recycling—provide important impetus.

The proposed replacement program for heavy-duty commercial vehicles is a positive step toward further economic support. The same applies to the extension of the environmental bonus for electric and hybrid vehicles.

IG Metall places the interests of workers at the center of this transformation. The recent decisions made at the auto summit point in the right direction. The strained situation facing the industry—and many suppliers in particular—now makes it essential to implement the agreed-upon measures quickly. These decisions must lead to swift action. IG Metall will support this process constructively.”

Further information and press photos of Jörg Hofmann