VW chief Blume, labor boss set for clash

What this means for your job search: Companies are under immense pressure to cut costs and boost efficiency, so be prepared to articulate how your skills directly contribute to business value, cost savings, or competitive advantage. Research the company's specific challenges and competitive landscape, then tailor your interview responses to demonstrate how you can help them achieve their strategic goals. OSNABRUECK, Germany ─ Volkswagen's management and labor leaders dug in on Wednesday ahead of a crucial board meeting next week, with CEO Oliver Blume pushing deeper cost cuts and unions rejecting layoffs and plant closures in the German group's biggest ever restructuring. Europe's largest automaker is considering measures that could double the planned number of job cuts, close factories and carve out parts of the business as it seeks to revive profits and fend off growing competition from Chinese rivals. Blume visited Volkswagen's electric vehicle plants in Emden and Zwickau, both considered vulnerable under the restructuring plan, where he praised employees' efforts to cut costs but warned that more would be needed. "This journey is not over. Because we not only measure ourselves against our own past performance. We measure ourselves against the best locations in Europe," Blume told staff at both sites, according to excerpts of speeches released by the company. "Labor costs today are more than double those of comparable European locations. And when it comes to factory costs, other plants are still significantly cheaper. This is not a criticism — it is the reality against which we must measure ourselves," he said. The plans will be discussed at a September 4 supervisory board meeting. Labor representatives and the state of Lower Saxony, which have traditionally been opposed to major job losses, hold a majority on the board. Emden is in Volkswagen's home state of Lower Saxony, which faces state elections next year. Zwickau, which Blume said had set a particularly strong example with lower costs, is in the eastern state of Saxony, outside the company's traditional power base. Both factories, along with Volkswagen's campervan plant in Hanover and subsidiary Audi's plant in Neckarsulm, currently lack a business plan beyond 2030. Osnabrueck, about 150 km (93 miles) south of Emden, is also under threat, with vehicle production there due to end as early as next year. Danie