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.