The management of German carmaker Volkswagen on Wednesday defended plans to reduce costs, as employees gathered at a staff assembly to protest potential plant closures that have also attracted the attention of the government. Some 25,000 employees met at the company’s headquarters in the northern city of Wolfsburg, according to the works council. Volkswagen said on Monday that the company could no longer rule out mandatory redundancies and plant closures as part of major austerity plans aimed at turning around the carmaker’s core VW brand. “We still have a year, maybe two years, to turn things…