Stellantis International Newsletter No. 34 – August 2026

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In the auto industry, the cutthroat battle is in full swing. More and more auto companies—especially from China and India—are flooding the stagnant global market and trying to drive others out. At many plants, the shift to arms production is being pushed forward. How is it at your plant? We workers oppose a war economy because we oppose imperialist war. Workers don’t shoot at workers! Fascist forces are being promoted in many countries; they create enemy stereotypes and want to destroy our unions and collective bargaining agreements. They deny the global climate catastrophe, even though the heat is harming people and the environment—especially when you have to work in a factory.

Volkswagen wants to cut 120,000 jobs and close at least four plants, General Motors plans to cut 74,000 jobs and close up to 21 plants; at Porsche, 9,000 jobs are at risk; at BMW, 8,000; at Bosch, 22,000; at Continental, 3,000; and at ZF, 7,600. The Stellantis engine plant in Douvrin has already closed, and Poissy will follow. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in the auto industry are at stake worldwide! More and more workforces are rising up against this. Here’s a brief overview, focusing solely on Germany: When the plan to close the Audi plant in Neckarsulm became public, the police arrested several distributors of a workers’ newspaper and took them away in handcuffs. The criminalization of worker solidarity was directed particularly against representatives of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany who were involved. But the distributors refused to be intimidated; they returned the next day and received strong solidarity from their Audi colleagues. This also inspired other workforces: On July 3, 33,000 Mercedes workers in Germany protested against wage cuts and the government’s planned attacks on the 35-hour workweek. On July 8, independent actions took place at many plants under the slogan: “Co-determination through strike.” On July 9, thousands protested outside the factory gates at all VW and Audi locations in Germany. A bus carrying Opel workers from Eisenach traveled to join their VW colleagues in Zwickau. Nearly 1,000 workers gathered at the gate there to celebrate cross-company solidarity. They recalled the day of action in Eisenach, when four buses from Zwickau sent a chill down the spines of corporate executives. On July 29, 6,000 workers once again gathered outside the gates of Audi Neckarsulm. There were also protests by auto workers in Belgium and Hungary. In a very short time, 11 international messages of solidarity were received, speaking out against the layoffs and repression. In Brazil, the MLPD’s solidarity press release was published on the revolutionary news portal Inverta, run by the PCML Brazil. Responses came from India from SUCIC and SEM; from Bangladesh from SLF; from the Philippines from Coni; in Europe from the Netherlands from Rode Morgen and ATIK; in Latin America from Brazil and Argentina; from the U.S. from the MCU; and from Africa from the World Coordinator of the World Women’s Conference. This is an important step toward coordinating our struggles internationally—only in this way can our motto, “No struggle stands alone,” be realized!

And the struggle continues: The next actions will take place on September 3 at VW on the occasion of the supervisory board meeting, and a union day of action across the entire automotive industry in Germany is scheduled for September 21. On September 26, the German Trade Union Federation is calling for demonstrations in all federal states against the government’s attacks on hard-won social benefits. We need much more information from other countries as well, because we’re certain that workers everywhere are fighting, and we must foster active international solidarity through by issuing statements of solidarity and organizing reciprocal visits. It is also important to report on discussions about what is still preventing our colleagues from fighting back.

How is the situation at Stellantis developing?

Stellantis is a pioneer in collaboration with Chinese corporations. Negotiations are known to be underway with half a dozen Chinese corporations, notably Dongfeng, Leapmotor, BYD, and Changan. This happens not only in Europa, but also with the Brampton Plant in Canada. From the perspective of the corporate leadership led by Antonio Filosa, a production capacity of about 800,000 cars per year is surplus to requirements. Various Chinese corporations are interested in utilizing such capacities at European plants. This allows them to circumvent the high import tariffs into Europe. For Stellantis, on the other hand, the goal is to avoid openly closing plants out of fear of labor struggles. In addition, they are employing the tactic of establishing joint ventures with Chinese corporations in which Stellantis holds a majority stake. This ensures that electric cars from Chinese brands are counted toward Stellantis’ fleet average, thereby avoiding heavy fines for exceeding emissions limits.

What is supposed to look like a win-win situation is, in reality, merely the preparation for a massive escalation of the cutthroat battle among the corporations. While the market in Europe stagnates, production is being ramped up by Chinese corporations utilizing spare capacity.

Together, these corporations already have a larger market share in Europe than VW, and that share is rising rapidly. Without import tariffs, they can offer even lower prices and push European corporations back on a massive scale. This is paving the way for a new, even larger wave of plant closures. But we, too, will be prepared! In Germany, resistance groups are currently forming to defend jobs and the rights that have been hard-won. What is the mood, the level of organization, and the willingness to fight in your plants?

In light of these developments, international workers’ unity is more crucial than ever. Only through international coordination can we build a superior force. In contrast, many workforces are still held back by a narrow-minded focus on their own locations. The leaderships of most major unions often focus solely on locations within their own countries or even demand investments, tariffs, or subsidies to benefit their respective national industries. On the other hand, there are now also militant voices and activities among forces extending all the way up to the leadership ranks of Germany’s IG Metall. We must promote this in our union work and break through this narrow national mindset. The international day of action at Stellantis in March was just a warm-up. We need to coordinate our work even better. To this end, we established an International Coordination Group at the 3rd International Auto Workers’ Conference in Pune. But the spokespersons can only coordinate what is actually happening in the various countries and plants and where they are being kept informed. Collaboration requires a constant exchange of information and experiences.