The Volkswagen factory in Zwickau, on Sept. 4.
Photographer: Iona Dutz/BloombergHyperdrive
Germany’s Image as Auto Superpower Hit by VW’s Slow Decline
The carmaker’s warning of possible factory closures is the most symbolic moment yet for the decline of manufacturing in Europe’s No. 1 economy.
On a Monday afternoon in mid-August, workers at Volkswagen AG’s electric vehicle factory in Zwickau shuttled stony-faced between car frames and platforms. The plant was eliminating night shifts after letting go of hundreds of temporary workers.
A sense of foreboding was already in the air.
