Plant closure and layoffs in Germany are inevitable for the German automotive giant Volkswagen, said its brand chief Thomas Schaefer on Saturday. In a newspaper interview, Schaefer said that the German carmaker cannot rely solely on band-aid measures to overcome its current challenges, adding that the company's labor costs are nearly double those of its European peers and must be reduced by 4 billion euros (4.17 billion U.S. dollars) over the next three to four years. This September, Volkswagen announced that it was considering closing some of its plants in Germany and terminating the employment protection agreement in place since 1994 as part of cost-cutting measures. On October 28, head of the group's works council Daniela Cavallo said Volkswagen planned to close at least three plants in Germany and cut tens of thousands of jobs to reduce its costs. In response to Volkswagen management's plans for pay cuts, layoffs, and plant closures, IG Metall, one of Germany's most influential unions, held a press conference on Wednesday, proposing measures to reduce the company's production costs, including accepting reduced working hours to preserve more jobs. However, if the proposal is not accepted by the Volkswagen management, the union has warned of launching a massive strike unprecedented in this country starting December 1. Volkswagen operates 10 plants for its main brand in Germany, employing around 120,000 people. SHOTLITS: FILE: Wolfsburg, Germany - Nov 2018 1. Headquarters of Volkswagen; FILE: Wolfsburg, Germany - Date Unknown 2. Various of Volkswagen plant; 3. Various of signs of Volkswagen, pedestrians; 4. Volkswagen cars along roadside; FILE: Wolfsburg, Germany - Aug 23, 2016 5. Various of Volkswagen factory exterior; 6. Various of Volkswagen car assembly line; FILE: Berlin, Germany - Date Unknown 7. National flag of Germany; FILE: Frankfurt, Germany - Oct 24, 2019 8. City view, buildings, bridge; FILE: Berlin, Germany - July 2022 9. Various of traffic. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]