VOLKSWAGEN workers have vowed to fight plans for job cuts and plant closures announced by the German car-maker.

Germany’s biggest company claims that it needs to save €4 billion (£3bn) and says that the existing job security plan agreed in 1994, which involves severance packages and reduced contracts, was not going to be sufficient to make the savings.

On Monday, Volkswagen chief executive Oliver Blume said: “The European car industry currently finds itself in a challenging and serious position.

“The economic environment has worsened and new competitors are pushing towards Europe. Germany is falling behind as a competitive location. As a company, we have to act.”

The Volkswagen brand has reportedly started to trail its subsidiary brands Skoda, Seat and Audi and the company claims that a package agreed last year to save around €10bn (£8.4bn) by 2026 during a transition to the manufacturing of electric cars is not working.

Works council chairwoman Daniela Cavallo vowed to resist the plans, which she called “an attack on our employment, our factories and our contracts. 

“The very future of the Volkswagen brand, the heart of the company, is in question and we will resist bitterly,” she warned. “There will be no Volkswagen plan closures with me!"

IG Metall, the 2.5 million-strong German manufacturing union, described the announcement as an irresponsible decision that “shakes the foundation” of the company.