Thousands of Volkswagen workers have walked out on strike over the escalating conflict between unions and the German carmaker's management.
The four-hour work stoppage was announced at nine Volkswagen plants across the country, DPA reported.
The industrial action is twice as long as the first "warning strike" organised by the IG Metall union last week, in which some 100,000 workers took part.
The strike coincided with the latest round of negotiations between unions and management over VW's austerity plan.
The two sides have been in fierce negotiations since Volkswagen announced in September that it was considering closing plants in Germany for the first time in history.
Group executives say the situation at Volkswagen is "serious", with drastic action needed to put the company on a sustainable footing.
The carmaker is struggling with the switch to electric vehicles as it grapples with high costs at home and growing competition from Chinese manufacturers.
Management has laid out plans to close at least three plants in Germany, where about 120,000 people work for the Volkswagen brand.
Workers' representatives strongly opposed the plan to close plants in Germany and threatened the group with mass industrial action.
The unions presented management with a cost-cutting plan that they said would save the automaker 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion). However, management rejected the proposals, saying they did not represent a "sustainable solution". | BGNES
