XPost: alt.survival, misc.survivalism   
   From: PFWTM@cumcast.net   
      
   Germany’s largest automaker, Volkswagen, is set to cease production at   
   its Transparent Factory in Dresden on Tuesday, several media outlets   
   have reported. Rising energy prices coupled with weak sales and US   
   tariffs have subjected the company to considerable cash flow pressure in   
   recent months.   
      
   The plant’s closure on Tuesday will be the first time in Volkswagen’s   
   88-year history that it has shut down a production line in its home   
   country, Germany.   
      
   The Transparent Factory in Dresden has produced more than 165,500   
   vehicles since its launch in 2001, while specializing in electric cars   
   in recent years.   
      
   Speaking earlier this month, Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schafer   
   explained that the closure, albeit painful, was essential “from an   
   economic perspective.”   
      
   Last year, the automaker announced plans to slash 35,000 jobs and   
   downsize production capacity in Germany.   
   Volkswagen has recently seen a significant slump in profits due to weak   
   sales in Europe, China, and the US.   
   Several other German carmakers, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have   
   been grappling with similar problems this year.   
      
   Among the factors weighing down the German automotive industry are   
   rising energy prices. Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict   
   in February 2022, the European Union drastically reduced imports of   
   Russian oil and gas, switching to more expensive alternatives.   
   Increasing competition from Chinese rivals and US tariffs are further   
   compounding the German carmakers’ problems.   
      
   In late October, Clemens Fuest, head of one of Europe’s leading economic   
   think tanks, the Munich-based ifo Institute, said Germany’s economic   
   decline was becoming “dramatic.”   
      
   Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged in August that the German economy   
   had slid into a “structural crisis,” with large sectors “no longer truly   
   competitive.”   
      
   https://www.rt.com/news/629487-vw-germany-closing-dresden-plant/   
      
   Where are those "temporary workers" from Turkey going to work now?   
   Things have been going down hill for Germany ever since they elected   
   their first woman head of state, Angela Merkle.  So sad.   
   --   
   The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of   
   doubt, while the stupid people are full of confidence.” —Charles Bukowski   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)