« Reply #19 on: 01 April 2020, 17:12 »
Volkswagen has admitted that its factory shutdown is costing €2 billion (£1.8bn) a week in fixed costs running 124 plants and paying for 671,000 staff, according to chief executive Herbert Diess. He called for urgent global action to stem the tide of Covid-19 and warned that job losses may be inevitable if the virus isn't halted quickly.
'Only if we, like China, Korea or other Asian states, get the problem under control then we have a chance to come through the crisis without job losses,' he told a German TV show. 'It requires a very sharp intervention.'
Diess warned that car sales had entirely dried up outside of China; car sales there nosedived when the epidemic first hit, but are gradually recovering, he said - although they're currently only back to half where they were before the outbreak.
VW is one of dozens of car makers left reeling from the effects of the coronavirus, which has halted production at most factories in Europe, the US and elsewhere. Like other manufacturers, it is calling on the European Central Bank to purchase short-term debt to assist a sector crippled by soaring costs and plunging revenues.
Logged
Current: Mk8 GTI DSG, Adelaides, DCC, HUD, HK, Winter Pack, Rear Camera.. Aka "HMS Weasel"
Gone: 2017 Mk7.5 GTD,manual, NavPro
Gone: 2014 Mk7 GTD, manual, NavPro, DCC
