Car - VW Saxony faces further job cuts due to e-car slump
Due to high demand for e-cars, Volkswagen in Zwickau may need to temporarily employ additional workers to keep up with production. The number of contracts, which are expected to expire by the end of 2025, ranges from 1,000 to 1,200. A final decision on this matter is expected in August, according to a company spokesperson. Previously, the "Free Press" reported this number. The e-car factory currently employs around 9,400 people, according to the company.
For the start of electromobility, Volkswagen in Zwickau had temporarily increased its workforce by around 2,700. Over 500 were reportedly made permanent employees last year, but due to high demand for e-cars, 269 had to leave at the end of 2023. For this year, a reduction of 500 jobs was planned. Another reduction is not unexpected: The company had always emphasized that the extension of temporary contracts depended on market conditions. And the situation remains tense. There is a shortage of sufficient new orders, it was stated.
Further steps towards two-shift operation
Volkswagen Sachsen had announced a few weeks ago that it intended to accelerate the transition to a pure two-shift operation in Zwickau due to weak demand. In November, the third shift was already discontinued for one of the production lines. The transition for the entire plant is expected to be completed by August.
Sabine Zimmermann, state chairwoman of The Left (Die Linke), attributed significant blame to federal and state politics for the weak demand for e-cars. "One should have first ensured proper infrastructure at charging stations before proclaiming the great energy transition and then leaving frustrated buyers behind. So, one is pushing the ecologically important energy transition against the wall."
- Despite the need for additional workers due to high e-car demand in Zwickau, Volkswagen may also have to implement job cuts, as stated by the company spokesperson, citing the Free Press.
- The e-car factory in Zwickau, located in Saxony, Germany, currently employs around 9,400 people, but this figure could potentially change due to upcoming decisions regarding temporary contracts and market conditions.
- In its efforts to advance electromobility, Volkswagen in Zwickau temporarily increased its workforce by around 2,700, but subsequent job cuts have resulted in 269 workers leaving the company at the end of 2023.
- The electric vehicle industry in Germany, including Volkswagen in Zwickau, is facing challenging market conditions, leading to reduced demand and potential job reductions.
- The transition to a two-shift operation at the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau is being accelerated due to weak demand, as announced by Volkswagen Sachsen, with the discontinuation of the third shift already underway.
