Early-morning commuters on 20 January 2026 were met by flashing closure signs rather than open tunnel bores. The public-sector union Ver.di called a 24-hour warning strike at Autobahn GmbH—the federally owned highway operator—after wage talks stalled. All 28 tunnel control centres in North-Rhine Westphalia downed tools, forcing eleven long tunnels, including Düsseldorf’s Rheintunnel and Dortmund’s Südwesttunnel, to close outright. Additional shutdowns hit Bavaria, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Berlin, while partial lane closures slowed traffic through Hamburg’s key Elbe Tunnel.
Around 14,000 Autobahn GmbH employees and several thousand state-road agency staff joined the action. Ver.di is demanding a 7 percent pay rise or a flat €300 increase for lower wage bands, arguing that inflation and tight labour markets make the offer “non-negotiable”. Management says the claim is unaffordable under current budget ceilings.
For mobility and relocation managers the impact is immediate. Corporate shuttle buses, assignment-related removals and cross-border trucking from the Netherlands or Belgium into Germany’s industrial belt are facing multi-hour detours. Logistics providers estimate that each closed tunnel adds between 30 and 70 kilometres per journey, eroding drivers’ legal working-time windows and raising CO₂ and cost footprints.
![Nation-wide Autobahn strike shutters key tunnels and snarls road traffic across Germany]()
Travel administrators scrambling to keep assignees compliant amid these detours can tap VisaHQ’s Germany services (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) for real-time visa and residence-permit support, fast document couriering and up-to-date entry guidance, ensuring paperwork doesn’t become another roadblock.
Road-based international assignees should be advised to carry additional identity and residence documentation; spontaneous police traffic management on diverted routes can trigger spot-checks. Companies moving time-sensitive goods—pharmaceutical APIs, automotive just-in-time components, or exhibition equipment for Hannover Messe set-up—should activate rail alternatives where feasible.
Although Ver.di labels the stoppage a “warning shot”, negotiators warn that a series of rolling tunnel and bridge closures could follow if no deal emerges in the next bargaining round scheduled for 27 January. Mobility teams should therefore build contingency buffers into February relocation timetables.
Around 14,000 Autobahn GmbH employees and several thousand state-road agency staff joined the action. Ver.di is demanding a 7 percent pay rise or a flat €300 increase for lower wage bands, arguing that inflation and tight labour markets make the offer “non-negotiable”. Management says the claim is unaffordable under current budget ceilings.
For mobility and relocation managers the impact is immediate. Corporate shuttle buses, assignment-related removals and cross-border trucking from the Netherlands or Belgium into Germany’s industrial belt are facing multi-hour detours. Logistics providers estimate that each closed tunnel adds between 30 and 70 kilometres per journey, eroding drivers’ legal working-time windows and raising CO₂ and cost footprints.
Travel administrators scrambling to keep assignees compliant amid these detours can tap VisaHQ’s Germany services (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) for real-time visa and residence-permit support, fast document couriering and up-to-date entry guidance, ensuring paperwork doesn’t become another roadblock.
Road-based international assignees should be advised to carry additional identity and residence documentation; spontaneous police traffic management on diverted routes can trigger spot-checks. Companies moving time-sensitive goods—pharmaceutical APIs, automotive just-in-time components, or exhibition equipment for Hannover Messe set-up—should activate rail alternatives where feasible.
Although Ver.di labels the stoppage a “warning shot”, negotiators warn that a series of rolling tunnel and bridge closures could follow if no deal emerges in the next bargaining round scheduled for 27 January. Mobility teams should therefore build contingency buffers into February relocation timetables.
