It is rumored that Volkswagen will lay off 4,000 employees in Germany through early retirement
According to foreign media reports, sources from within Volkswagen revealed on March 14 that the company plans to cut as many as 4,000 jobs by offering older employees early or partial retirement at its factories in Germany. Position, this move may cost hundreds of millions of euros.
ID.3 (Image source: Volkswagen)
Volkswagen stated in a statement that the company has worked out a plan with the Workers’ Committee to open partial retirements to workers born in 1964 and provide early retirement for workers born between 1956 and 1960. .
Volkswagen said that it is expected that as many as 900 people will choose to retire early, but the number of people who choose to retire will be less. The company did not give an accurate figure. According to sources from the company, Volkswagen will implement the program in six German factories of its main brands and is expected to cut 3,000 to 4,000 jobs. These factories currently employ approximately 120,000 employees.
Volkswagen declined to comment on the cost of this plan, which will depend on how many employees accept the proposal. A source estimated that the cost of this layoff will be close to 500 million euros (approximately $598 million).
As the 83-year-old car company began to imitate Tesla and try to become a technology company, Volkswagen stated that its training budget will increase by 40 million euros to 200 million euros.
Volkswagen said that they will also extend the recruitment freeze to the end of 2021, after the company's plan was to freeze only one quarter. Currently, Volkswagen can only recruit externally in areas such as electric vehicles, digitalization and battery cell development. In January this year, the Volkswagen Group stated that it would cut 5% of management expenses and 7% of procurement costs in the next two years.
