In the struggle to save billions, Volkswagen is imposing a temporary hiring freeze for its most important locations. “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 six 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 ten billion euros by 2026 and increase returns to 6.5 percent.
The VW works council showed understanding for the hiring freeze that has now been imposed. “In view of the recent efficiency efforts, it is understandable that the company is now reducing further job creation through new hires to the bare minimum,” said a spokesman. “We see this as an opportunity to advance the key issue of internal transformation in an even more concentrated manner than before.”
VW initially left it open how long the hiring freeze would last. The measure applies “until further notice,” said the company spokesman. The company spokesman emphasized that ongoing recruitment processes are not affected. 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.
