Olaf Lies visits secret VW meeting: What awaits us in Wolfsburg?

Olaf Lies visits secret VW meeting: What awaits us in Wolfsburg?

On Wednesday, December 3, 2025, Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Olaf Lies (SPD) is expected at the Volkswagen works meeting in Wolfsburg. This meeting is an important event at which company boss Oliver Blume and works council chairwoman Daniela Cavallo will also be present. Interestingly, the meeting is not public, which adds to the tension. Lower Saxony is the second largest shareholder with 20 percent of the shares and Lies is also on the company's supervisory board.

If you compare the atmosphere with the last works meeting in December 2022, you would expect things to be quieter. At that time, Blume had to contend with boos during a warning strike. But since then, Blume and Cavallo seem to have discovered positive cooperation between management and employee representatives, which both praise as a successful model. This was particularly visible in the restructuring program that was decided at the end of 2024 and envisages 35,000 job cuts in Germany by 2030. Surprisingly, VW has reinstated the previously terminated job security and extended it until 2030, giving employees some hope.

Co-determination celebrates its anniversary

Another crucial point in Volkswagen's history is the upcoming 80th anniversary of co-determination in the company. On November 27, 2025, a ceremony will take place in the Autostadt Wolfsburg, during which not only the achievements of the works council will be celebrated, but an 80-page chronicle will also be published. The first works council was elected on November 27, 1945 and has continued to develop since then.

Dr. Eva Rund, President of the International Auschwitz Committee, will give the keynote address. She is one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz and brings with her a moving story that sheds a whole new light on the topic of participation. In addition to Runde, Lies, Cavallo and Blume will also be on stage and underline the importance of co-determination. In addition, the youth and trainee representatives will make an appearance, which shows the relevance of the younger generation in the company.

Volkswagen as an employer

Volkswagen itself is one of the largest private employers worldwide and employed a total of 684,025 people as of December 31, 2023, which represents a slight increase of 1.2% compared to the previous year. There are 298,687 employees in Germany. This enormous workforce also knows how important a progressive human resources strategy is - the group strategy “NEW AUTO” ensures that employees are gradually placed in positions with a promising future. Flexible working time models have been in place since 2023 and health care is also offered beyond legal requirements.

A particularly innovative approach is the “Transform to Tech” strategy, which relies on participation and further training. The employees have a high participation rate of 79% and achieve a mood index of an impressive 82.5 points. In this way, Volkswagen shows that it has a good hand for the employee experience - and this also has a positive effect on its attractiveness as an employer. The target value for 2025 is 89.1 points, following the 86.0 points achieved in 2023.

Overall, VW can look back on an eventful time. The upcoming events and developments, from the works meeting to the 80th anniversary of co-determination, clearly show that the interfaces between management and employees are more important than ever. And that, it can be said, is also a key to the company's future success.

For current information about the company meeting and the anniversary celebrations, take a look at the articles from Borken newspaper, IGM at VW and Volkswagen Annual Report 2023.