Germany’s four federal states want to work together to ensure embattled carmaker Volkswagen does not close any of its factories, they said in a joint document seen by Reuters.

According to representatives of the ministries of Lower Saxony, Saxony, Hesse and Berlin, the main aim is to fully protect all parts of the company. “This means individual locations will not compete with each other,” the statement said. “The economic departments of the federal states will act in solidarity and close cooperation with each other.”

They also ruled out serious redundancies and said long-term contract renewals should ensure jobs are protected.

Tensions are rising over the automaker as the threat of factory closures, a first for the company in Germany, puts the company on a collision course with the influential IG Metall union.

IG Metall will also negotiate new employment deals for 130,000 workers for its main Volkswagen brand in Germany after the group last month terminated contracts that had provided jobs at its six plants in West Germany since the mid-1990s.

On September 19, Manager Magazin reported that Volkswagen plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs in Germany in the medium term. Previously, VW’s financial director Arno Antlitz had stated that two factories could be at risk.