Amid warnings of mass layoffs or plant closures at German carmaker Volkswagen, the state premier of Lower Saxony on Wednesday called for swift talks between the company and labour leaders. Stephan Weil, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), said that management and labour must find compromises and solutions that will keep Volkswagen internationally competitive, during a visit to a VW plant in the north-western German city of Emden. Weil spoke for almost an hour at the plant with representatives of the works council and the IG Metall trade union, both of which have promised to wag…