BERLIN - Volkswagen workers in Germany took a step closer to strike action after unions and management met for the third round of talks over the ailing carmaker's drastic cost-cutting plans.
Despite progress in the negotiations, representatives from the IG Metall union indicated they would move to start "warning strikes" from December 1.
Volkswagen, whose brands range from its core VW models to Porsche and Skoda, is battling challenges including high costs at home, slowing sales in key market China and a problematic transition to electric vehicles.
Thursday's talks were the third round since September's bombshell announcement that VW was mulling unprecedented factory closures in Germany.
IG Metall went into the meeting with proposals it said would save 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in labour costs without the need for site closures.
Union negotiator Thorsten Groeger told reporters after the talks that the management side had agreed to evaluate the plans and continue talks "on this basis".
The two sides would meet again on December 9 to discuss the proposals, Groeger said.
At the same time, Groeger said he would "recommend to the collective bargaining committee that we call for warning strikes at Volkswagen's locations when the no-strike obligation expires, that is to say from December 1".
"This is necessary in the ongoing negotiation process because it has also become clear today that... the difference between the positions is still huge," he said.
The possibility that VW factories in Germany would be closed was "not off the table", he added.
Volkswagen's lead negotiator Arne Meiswinkel said in a statement it was a "positive signal that the employee representatives have shown openness to reducing labour costs and capacity reductions".
Making savings was "crucial in order to ensure competitiveness in an extremely challenging phase for the German automotive industry", Meiswinkel said.