Faced with the uncertainty in regard to the imposition of US tariffs on the automotive sector, the decline in production, and competition, among other factors, Volkswagen de México could resort to laying off 1,093 workers at its Puebla plant, company and union representatives revealed.
Hugo Tlalpan, general secretary of the Volkswagen de México Independent Union of Automotive Industry Workers, stated in an interview that an analysis of all work areas will be conducted, together with the company, with the objective of implementing the appropriate measures and preventing employee layoffs as far as possible.
“With the information that we have and that we are fully aware of, we verify each one of the areas to see whether that number of workers is truly in excess”, he stated. If the personnel cuts that were announced by the company during its contract revision are implemented, Tlalpan explained, the impact on the staff will be sought to be minimized, “and instead of 1,093, only 200 or 500 [will be laid off].”
The application of 25 percent tariffs for importing automobiles into the United States, the reduction of the production volume and the postponement of assemblies from 2026 to 2027 permeate this problem. “We have made plans that we would propose at the appropriate time in order to preserve the greatest number of jobs in anticipation of the 2027 production”, Tlalpan confided.
In an interview, Óscar de la Vega, Volkswagen de México’s legal representative, added trade uncertainty for November 1st and a significant reduction in car purchases in the United States. Negotiations will be necessary for analyzing different economic alternatives; one, he said, could be a reduction of staff, although much will depend on the US market’s behavior and the proposals made by the union.
“If this situation continues to worsen, very drastic measures will need to be taken from the labor and economic perspective as, in the case of automobile assemblers, there are thousands of workers in each center.”
