Volkswagen’s 9,700 hourly employees at its Puebla, Mexico plant have a beef with their German employer over pay. After rejecting Volkswagen’s August 17 offer of a four percent raise in pay, workers left their jobs this morning to strike, holding out for the 8.5 percent raise they put onto the table.
The vote over the 4 percent raise was a close one, at 54 to 46 percent rejecting the proposal, indicating that the strike will likely be short-lived and the situation will be resolved quickly. Another round of negotiations are taking place this afternoon.
Despite the strike’s potential to be short, it will still be a relatively substantial hit to production — the plant currently works around the clock five days a week and produces 1,450 units, including 350 New Beetles per day, according to Reuters.
[Source: Reuters via Automotive News]