According to foreign media reports, on September 19, German Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said when asked about the risk of layoffs faced by Volkswagen, Germany’s largest automaker, that the German government is considering how to support Volkswagen.

Volkswagen said this month that the company needs to significantly cut costs for its namesake brand in Germany due to high costs, low capacity utilization and fierce competition.

Habeck told reporters in Papenburg, Lower Saxony, “Volkswagen is vital to Germany.” Habeck will visit Volkswagen’s plant in Emden on September 20 local time.

Sources from the German government revealed that the country’s Ministry of Economy is currently considering how to solve the problem of weak electric vehicle sales. The German Ministry of Economy said that on September 23, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), the German trade union IG Metall, automakers and suppliers will attend the German Automotive Summit.

Habeck declined to comment on a report in the German media. The report said that internal estimates show that Volkswagen Group will lay off 30,000 employees in Germany in the medium term, accounting for about 10% of its total German workforce. The report did not disclose the source of the news.

A spokesman for Volkswagen’s works council said the figure was “groundless and pure nonsense.” This figure is often cited when talking about Volkswagen’s potential layoffs in Germany.

Volkswagen management and unions will begin negotiations next week. Earlier this month, Volkswagen said that the company might close its factories in Germany, and then the company also canceled the original long-term wage agreement.