VW targets significant cost reduction in administration
According to the "Handelsblatt" newspaper, the planned savings program at car manufacturer Volkswagen includes significant job cuts in administration. In an internal podcast with Group HR Director Gunnar Kilian, VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer spoke of a savings target of one fifth in personnel costs in the so-called indirect area, the newspaper reported. The administrative apparatus of the Wolfsburg-based company comprises around 40,000 office employees in the brand and Group. Kilian emphasized that the company was concerned with costs, not heads. A Group spokeswoman would not comment further on the details of the information.
No "cutbacks in our job security"
The spokesperson said that all costs and issues relating to the Volkswagen brand's planned program would be critically examined. The company will continue to use the possibilities "along the demographic curve" - i.e. instruments such as voluntary partial retirement. "There is no blanket target for reducing the number of employees at Volkswagen," she said. The employee representatives also declined to comment on "speculation". "The Works Council is not commenting on the content of the confidential negotiations or on the further timetable," said a Works Council spokesperson. "Collective wage cuts or reductions in our job security are not acceptable to us."
VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer wants to improve the results of the Wolfsburg-based company's chronically low-profit core brand with a cost-cutting program. By the end of 2026, a total of ten billion euros is to be raised so that VW Passenger Cars can achieve the targeted return on sales of 6.5 percent - most recently it was 3.4 percent in the first nine months of 2023. Schäfer had already indicated that there would be savings through cross-brand production in the so-called "Core" brand group, among other things. In addition to VW Passenger Cars, this also includes Seat/Cupra, Skoda and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN).
Details of the savings program are not yet available. According to "Handelsblatt", negotiations with employee representatives are likely to continue into next year. However, all the necessary measures for 2024 are already in place, while those for subsequent years have yet to be finalized.
The VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer is focusing on reducing administrative costs at Volkswagen, aiming for a savings target of one fifth in personnel costs in the indirect area. Thomas Schäfer, as the brand boss of Volkswagen, is overseeing a significant cost reduction strategy that targets administrative expenses.
Source: www.dpa.com
