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VW workers to strike on Monday over cost-cutting

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Strikes will be twice as long as previous round

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Coincide with new round of talks with management

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Europe's car sector in turmoil

Dec 5 (Reuters) - Volkswagen workers will go

on extended strikes on Monday, stepping up a bitter dispute with

management over layoffs and what would be the first factory

closures on German soil for Europe's largest carmaker, a union

statement said on Thursday.

The IG Metall union said workers would down tools for four

hours at nine different sites in so-called "warning" strikes

across the country, twice as long as the first round of

industrial action at the start of December.

The walkouts are timed to coincide with the next round of

talks between Volkswagen and labour representatives over

cost-cutting measures that the company says are vital to stay

competitive against rising costs and foreign rivals.

The crisis at Europe's largest carmaker has hit Germany at a

time of economic uncertainty and domestic political upheaval, as

well as wider turmoil among the region's automakers.

Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume on Wednesday had defended

his decisions as necessary in a rapidly changing environment,

saying management could not operate "in a fantasy world".

"It borders on mockery when Oliver Blume stands in front of

the workforce and wishes them a Merry Christmas, while at the

same time the VW board would prefer to put letters of

termination under the Christmas tree for the employees," IG

Metall negotiator Thorsten Groeger said on Thursday.

"We will now step up our efforts on December 9th and thus

increase the pressure on the company at the negotiating table,"

he said in a statement.

Europe's car sector is in turmoil, with thousands of jobs on

the line at automakers and their suppliers, all suffering from a

weakening market on the continent and a slower-than-expected

take-up of electric vehicles.

On Monday morning on Dec. 9, thousands of VW employees are

expected to attend a rally in Wolfsburg, where VW is

headquartered, shortly before the start of negotiations.

Workers could increase pressure if no agreement is struck

during next week's negotiations, union officials have signalled,

leading to longer and possibly even open-ended strikes.