Tens of thousands of Volkswagen workers will participate Monday in strikes at plants across Germany, labor union IG Metall said, marking the largest walkouts at the carmaker’s domestic operations since 2018.

Volkswagen has threatened to close plants in Germany for the first time in its 87-year history to reduce costs and boost profit.

Workers at Volkswagen plants across Germany walked off the job in waves on Monday for temporary work stoppages, marking the start of nationwide strikes against the German auto giant. About 66,000 VW employees - more than half of VW's factory workforce in Germany - joined the strikes,