Volkswagen is heading for the future with its e-car offensive – but it will cost thousands of jobs. Up to 7,000 jobs could be lost at the emden and hanover sites when stromer production is ramped up.
However, this would only be possible if partial retirement arrangements were fully utilized, the german press agency learned from company sources.
CEO herbert diess had previously ruled out compulsory redundancies. However, he announced an even tougher rebuilding program for the world’s biggest carmaker because of the tighter CO2 limits for new cars in the EU.
According to dpa information, up to 4,000 jobs could be cut in hannover and up to 3,000 in emden through early retirement schemes. However, this would only be feasible on a voluntary basis. In hanover then remained a good 10.000 employees, in emden about 6000. Previously, the "frankfurter allgemeine zeitung" had reported that. The group would not comment.
The industry believes that fewer employees will be needed to build the less complex electric cars. In order to cushion the transition at the two VW sites, an agreement has been reached to safeguard jobs until the end of 2028. Volkswagen recently announced that it will also manufacture electric cars in emden and hanover in the future.
With the shift to electromobility, the entire industry with more than 800 plants nationwide.000 employees to fight. Industry expert stefan bratzel predicts a 15 percent drop in employment by 2030: the fewer burners built, the greater the drop in the volume of work required. Bratzel expects "some blowing" on the way – especially since the chance of well-paid employees finding an equivalent job is not rough.
According to a study by the institute for labor market and occupational research (IAB), the transition to e-mobility will require around 114 percent of the workforce in the long term.000 jobs cost. The forecast assumes a market share for e-cars of 23 percent by 2035. According to diess, volkswagen alone must increase the share of electric vehicles in total sales to over 40 percent by 2030 in view of stricter EU climate protection requirements. BMW and daimler aim to generate 15 to 25 percent of their sales from electric cars by 2025, according to earlier reports. VW aims to sell one million e-vehicles this year.
Volkswagen will be able to comply with the new limits, it recently told the "bild" newspaper. "Of course, we will be able to achieve the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by another 37.5 percent by 2030. With our e-platform and our strong presence in china, we can do that."But that would mean an enormous change. He criticized that batteries and CO2 penalties for conventional cars make entry-level mobility unaffordable for many customers. "And it was costing jobs, in a rough order, that we could no longer reduce over this period via early retirement schemes."
Michael brecht, head of the daimler works council, is also concerned about the stricter CO2 requirements. "I fear that companies will revamp their supply chains and shift further volumes to eastern europe to compensate for the higher costs of e-mobility," he told "automobilwoche.". "Under these conditions, it will become increasingly difficult to retain employment here in germany."
VW works council chairman bernd osterloh also sharply criticized the agreed targets for CO2 emissions: "I wonder whether the decision-makers in brussels and berlin are aware of what they are doing to the workers in the auto industry," he wrote in a christmas letter to the workforce. This letter is available to the deutsche presse-agentur. Osterloh warned of "uncontrollable job losses".
He stressed that redundancies could not be made with the works council – but also pointed out that despite the headwinds, more than 2,000 temporary employees had been taken on this year. Volkswagen announced at the beginning of december that it would be tightening up its savings policy. Rarely demanded model variants should be discontinued; the company also sees potential for savings in personnel.
Lower saxony’s minister president and VW supervisory board member stephan weil (SPD) criticized the "talk" about future jobs: "there will certainly be jobs, but the number of jobs that will be lost will be many times higher."In view of the EU’s CO2 targets, further restructuring is to be expected. IG metall fears 200,000 jobs could be lost.