CNN takes exclusive look at prep for pandas' move from China
NASA spacecraft rockets toward Jupiter's moon Europa in search of the right conditions for life
Israel faces a fierce and evasive foe in Hezbollah's drones
Reported threats force FEMA to pause some aid operations in North Carolina
Congo cancels an auction for 27 sites earmarked for oil exploration
Anthony Rizzo, Marcus Stroman back on Yankees' roster for ALCS against Guardians
Members of the Kennedy family gather for funeral of Ethel Kennedy
Kansas tops AP Top 25 preseason men's basketball poll ahead of Alabama, defending champion UConn
BERLIN (Reuters) - The four German states with a Volkswagen presence want to work together to ensure that the struggling carmaker does not shut any of its plants, the states' economy ministries said in a joint position paper seen by Reuters on Monday.
The number one goal is to fully preserve all sites, said the ministries of Lower Saxony, Saxony, Hesse and Berlin.
"This means that the individual locations are not played off against each other," they said in the paper dated Oct. 10.
"The economic departments of the federal states will act in solidarity and in close coordination with each other," it said.
They also rejected harsh cuts at the expense of employees and said a renewed, long-term contract for job security should ensure positions are protected and expertise is retained.
Tensions at the carmaker are running high as the spectre of factory closures - a first for the company in Germany - has set it on a collision course with the powerful IG Metall union.
IG Metall must also negotiate new labour deals for the core VW brand's 130,000 workers in Germany, after the group last month ended agreements that had safeguarded employment at six of its plants in western Germany since the mid-1990s.
(Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Writing by Miranda Murray; editing by Matthias Williams)
