Volkswagen workers have been on strike in Germany since Monday

The union said on Sunday: “If necessary, it will be a collective bargaining battle, the toughest battle it has ever witnessed.” Volkswagen “Not at all.”

The crisis-hit auto giant has been in bitter talks with unions since it announced in September it was considering the unprecedented step of closing its factories in… GermanyIt has about 120 thousand employees.

Volkswagen has been hit hard by rising production costs in Germany, the shift to electric vehicles and intense competition in China, its main market.

Ahead of talks last month, union and Volkswagen works councils outlined a series of proposals they said would save 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in labor costs without closing the site. These proposals included eliminating bonuses.

The union also said it may drop demands for higher wages in exchange for shorter working hours at some factories.

But Volkswagen concluded that while the measures might help in the short term, they would not save the company in the long term.

The union regretted the company’s response and accused it of “ignoring the constructive suggestions of employee representatives.”