IG Metall counts more than 413,000 in first warning strike wave

Record turnout in the first warning strike wave

IG Metall counted more than 413,000 employees taking part in over 2,800 actions during the first warning strike wave of the metal and electrical industry, a tally it gave on Friday, 6 November 2026. The actions ranged from brief work stoppages to rallies, and the union said the turnout clearly exceeded that of the 2024 bargaining round. Companies hit by stoppages included the car makers Mercedes, Audi and BMW, the truck makers Daimler Truck and MAN, wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa and aircraft maker Airbus. In Bavaria, IG Metall called on tens of thousands of staff to walk out, and about 30 plants in the Nuremberg area alone were covered, among them ZF, Siemens, MAN and Schaeffler. A rally took place in front of the Bosch plant gate in Nuremberg. On Friday, 6 November, stoppages were planned at 105 plants, including the BMW plant in Dingolfing.

Demands and employer offers

IG Metall wants 5% more pay for the 3.7 million employees in the sector across Germany, starting in November, on a term of twelve months. It also seeks rules to safeguard jobs, and it wants highly profitable companies to pay a profit share. In the northern district, which stretches from Bremen to the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, employers and the union met for a third round on Friday, 6 November, and parted without a result. The employers there have offered a one-off payment in July 2027 of between 500 and 850 euros, depending on earnings, which could be dropped at companies in crisis, and a 1.3% pay rise from July 2028. In Bavaria, employers have offered a one-off payment of 1% of gross annual salary for the coming year and a 1.3% rise for 2028, citing the weak economic position of many firms. On Thursday, 5 November, IG Metall proposed solutions in Baden-Württemberg for securing investment and sites, and said it could accept time-limited arrangements in which staff contributions would be exchanged for binding job guarantees.

IG Metall pay demand5%

Employer offer: pay rise from 20281.3%

Employer offer: one-off payment in Bavaria (% of gross annual salary)1%

IG Metall pay demand

5 %

Employer offer: pay rise from 2028

1.3 %

Employer offer: one-off payment in Bavaria (% of gross annual salary)

1 %

Data from the article text

Talks resume on Monday, 9 November

The third round in Bavaria is scheduled for Monday, 9 November, at the IG Metall union house in Munich, the union said. Talks in North Rhine-Westphalia are also set for that day. Horst Ott, IG Metall's Bavarian district leader and chief negotiator, told employers not to ignore the signals and called for a better offer. The Bavarian metal and electrical employers' association vbm, meanwhile, wants the union to move towards an offer that sits below the inflation rate. Its chief executive Bertram Brossardt put the employers' position this way:

“We expect the IG Metall to show less class-struggle rhetoric, fewer strikes and, instead, more willingness to find a solution.”

Escalation threats and the union's view

Daniel Friedrich, IG Metall's chief negotiator in the northern district, said the union's bargaining commission would discuss the next steps. He warned that the union was ready for a tougher fight if employers pushed for one.

“If the employers want escalation, we are prepared.”

IG Metall chair Christiane Benner said the workforce had shown what it thought of the employers' offer through its turnout.

“They have shown that they think nothing, but absolutely nothing, of the employers' minus offer.”

Further warning strikes had been announced for Monday, 9 November.