Volkswagen labor leaders won a major victory Thursday by forcing the automaker to the consulting company it hired to implement a massive cost-cutting initiative. Volkswagen is seeking to slash 5 billion euros in costs in an effort to boost profits in a foundering market, and hired McKinsey to help plan the necessary cuts. VW's work council was concerned the cuts would focus solely on lowering labor costs, rather than exploring cuts in research and development. In addition, labor leaders state they were not consulted in McKinsey's hiring, an action they claim is anathema to the model of cooperation between labor and management that exists at the company. Volkswagen is still expected to find a way to reach it's cost-cutting goals.
See "Unions force VW to axe consultants in clash over cost cuts - sources", Edward Taylor and Andreas Cremer, Reuters, August 7, 2014