Weak demand for e-cars costs jobs at VW plant
Electric mobility will significantly reduce the number of jobs in the automobile industry. Currently, electric cars are selling poorly in this country, however. For around 1000 VW employees in Saxony, this means nothing good - quite the opposite.
Approximately 1000 jobs are expected to disappear at the Zwickau VW plant by the end of 2025. A company spokesperson confirmed this to MDR. These are temporary contracts, which are unlikely to be extended based on the current situation. The reason is the sluggish demand for electric cars from the VW Group.
The final decision on the extent of the job cuts is expected to be made in August. In this plant, they produce electric models for the brands VW, Audi, and Cupra, as well as luxury bodywork for Bentley and Lamborghini. Currently, according to the spokesperson, there are still around 9,400 employees working there, including temporary workers - significantly more than before the shift from combustion engine to electric models, when there were up to 7500 employees directly employed by VW.
Due to the weak demand for electric cars, VW had to cut shifts at its pure electric car plant in Saxony last year. Now, after the summer holidays, both production lines are to be switched to a two-shift operation without night shifts, which means fewer workers are needed.
Paradoxically, in the production of cars with combustion engines, tens of thousands of jobs will disappear due to the rise of electric mobility, as fewer workers are needed for electric cars. In Volkswagen's pure electric car factory, the jobs seemed relatively secure. However, at the end of last year, VW announced that they would not be extending hundreds of temporary contracts, as reported by MDR. At the peak, there were around 10,000 employees, including temporary workers, working in the Zwickau plant.
The downturn in electric car sales in this country is putting the jobs of over 1000 VW employees in Zwickau at risk, as indicated by the company spokesperson. This is due to the sluggish demand for electric cars from the VW Group.
Contrary to expectations, the shift towards electromobility has resulted in downsizing at the VW plant in Zwickau, despite it being a significant production hub for electric models.
