STORY: Workers at nine Volkswagen plants across Germany brought production to a standstill on Monday (). They went on strike for several hours in an intensifying standoff over wages and the future of the carmaker's operations.

The workers' union chief negotiator warned that, if they can't come to an agreement, "this will be the toughest wage dispute VW has ever seen"

Volkswagen workers across Germany are ready to strike from early December, the IG Metall union said in a pamphlet circulated on Friday. "Volkswagen will determine at the negotiating table how long and how hard the conflict will be - the VW workforce throughout the country is ready to strike,