Image: Moritz Frankenberg (dpa)
“Due to the ongoing efficiency programs at Volkswagen AG, external hiring will be temporarily limited and no external positions will be advertised,” said a spokesman on Friday when asked in Wolfsburg.
All 6 locations in Lower Saxony and Hesse are affected: Wolfsburg, Hanover, Braunschweig, Salzgitter, Emden and Kassel. “Business Insider” had previously reported. The background is the planned efficiency program, which the Volkswagen core brand has been negotiating with the works council since the beginning of October.
The brand is struggling with high costs and production downtime. In the first nine months of 2023, the operating return on sales fell to 3.4 percent. This means that out of every 100 euros in sales, only around 3.40 euros in operating profit remained in day-to-day business. The “Performance Program” announced in the summer is intended to reduce costs by 10 billion euros by 2026 and increase returns to 6.5 percent.
The spokesman emphasized that ongoing recruitment processes are not affected by the hiring freeze. There are also exceptions for absolutely necessary tasks, such as fulfilling legal obligations. Just in October, VW rejected a report that up to 4,000 administrative jobs would be eliminated as part of the efficiency program.
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