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

Beginning Monday morning, workers at nine plants will launch warning strikes, which are usually short walk-outs, as part of the continuing dispute, the IG Metall union said over the weekend.

BERLIN, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) workers will go on warning strikes on Monday at plants across Germany, labour union IG Metall said, marking the first large-scale walkouts at Volkswagen's domestic operations since 2018.

Volkswagen has rejected a proposal from labor representatives that they said could avert layoffs and factory closures. VW said it wouldn't have delivered the advertised savings. Strikes loom in the brewing labor dispute.

IG Metall said its members would down tools for a few hours a day after the auto giant and union leaders failed to agree on how to cut costs amid a slow electric-vehicle market and fierce competition.

Workers at nine Volkswagen car and component plants across Germany will strike for several hours on Monday, IG Metall union said, bringing assembly lines to a halt as labour and management clash over the future of the carmaker's German operations.

German Volkswagen employees have reached their limit. They are threatening a warning strike that could potentially escalate into a prolonged protest. On 21 November, after the third round of negotiations with the company's management ended in failure,