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23 September, 2026Around 175,000 workers took to the streets across Germany on 21 September, defending jobs, working conditions and demanding investment in the future of the automotive industry.
Under the slogan: a future, not cutbacks, IG Metall members gathered at some 280 events nationwide. These included works meetings, active lunch-break protests, rallies at factory gates and public demonstrations by German autoworkers. Major hubs included Wolfsburg, Ingolstadt, Salzgitter, Zwickau and Sindelfingen.
Workers from major carmakers including Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes-Benz participated alongside employees from dozens of suppliers. They demanded that employers stop the cutbacks and invest in the future of their plants.
IG Metall president Christiane Benner, who also serves as president of IndustriALL Global Union, said layoffs will not solve the industry’s crisis:
“Sacking people will not save the economy. That will only succeed through innovation and bold investment in products, technology and sites. Automotive workers are no longer prepared to pay for a crisis they did not cause.”
International solidarity across borders
Mercedes-Benz workers in Vance, Alabama, represented by the United Autoworkers Union (UAW), sent a message of solidarity to their German colleagues: “We stand with the workers in Germany. Enough is enough.”
In Serbia, the Metalworkers’ Union NEZAVISNOST said the country’s auto supply industry is closely tied to Germany’s. This means Serbian workers face many of the same pressures. “The future of the industry cannot rest on the interests of profit and shareholders alone,” wrote president Slobodan Miladinović.
In India, the Steel, Metal and Engineering Workers’ Federation of India (SMEFI) represents 200,000 workers across steel, auto, electronics and shipbuilding and extended its full solidarity. Furthermore, general secretary Sanjay S. Vadhavkar endorsed the day’s slogan: “A future, not sweeping cuts, solidarity is our strongest brand.”
A sector under global pressure
Germany’s auto industry faces growing pressure from global market shifts, competition, delayed investment and poor management decisions. Companies have responded with large-scale job cuts, plant closures and relocation abroad.
IG Metall says the answer lies in investment and innovation, rather than cutting jobs and working conditions. It is calling for targeted industrial support, effective trade protection and local-content requirements, alongside safeguards for collective bargaining, co-determination and the 35-hour working week.
The union argues that companies must invest in future-oriented products, technologies and production sites. Additionally, companies should adapt their strategies to changing global markets.
IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie said:
“Germany’s autoworkers are sending a clear message: industrial transformation cannot be built on job cuts and insecurity. Carmakers must invest in workers, skills and sustainable production. This is a global industry and workers everywhere have a shared interest in ensuring the transition delivers secure, quality jobs. IndustriALL stands in solidarity with IG Metall and its members fighting for a future worth working for.”