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17 September, 2026On Monday, 21 September, automotive workers across Germany will take coordinated action at approximately 100 plants and supplier sites. Over 280 actions are planned across IG Metall's local offices under the slogan A future, not sweeping cuts – solidarity is our strongest brand.
Workers everywhere face the same employer playbook: crisis rhetoric, profit extraction, plant closures and wage pressure. The automotive sector is a test case for manufacturing. The decisions made here will determine whether manufacturing remains viable in Europe or moves to lower-wage countries, the pace of transition to sustainable production, and whether workers have a voice in shaping their industry.
What are workers demanding?
For more than a century, the German auto industry has been a global leader in innovation and high-quality products but also in working conditions, pay and reliable and constructive labour relations. Then the industry entered the period of transformation towards electrified vehicles and all over a sudden, leadership turned into severe crisis. The companies were simply too late with their investments and the EU and governments weren’t able to set the framework conditions required to stay on top, particularly in battery chemistry. Consequently, the technological leadership was lost to the Chinese and hundred thousands of auto workers are losing their jobs in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
Auto workers and their unions are asking why they are the only ones who have to foot the bill for this failure.
IG Metall is mobilizing tens of thousands of workers against employer strategies that prioritize shareholder returns over investment in plants, products and people.
To employers:
- Future-proof products for plants
- Investment in sites, not windfalls for shareholders
- Hands off the 35-hour week
- Cost-cutting in management and bureaucracy, not on the shopfloor
To government:
- Stronger trade protection and local content requirements—whoever sells in Europe must produce here
- Lower electricity costs and reduced bureaucracy
- Financial support for suppliers undergoing transition
- A future for hybrid technology and tariffs on dumping imports
- More support for key industries of the future (green steel, batteries, software)
Show your solidarity
We are calling on IndustriALL affiliates to demonstrate international solidarity through:
- Solidarity letters or statements from your union to IG Metall
- Video messages from workers or leadership
- Social media posts using #Sept21, tagging IndustriALL and IG Metall
- Direct participation if possible
The 21 September action launches a broader European campaign culminating in a demonstration outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 24 November 2026, when the EU Automotive Package and Industrial Accelerator Act are adopted.
Says Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary:
“Workers everywhere face the same challenge. Solidarity is our strongest brand – when we come together we win, so I encourage everyone to show support in any way you can on 21 September.”