Volkswagen noted that at the moment it does not want to hire new employees at its most important facilities. THE hiring freeze is part of a strategy to make the German automaker’s historic brand more profitable again.

In an effort to save billions of euros, Volkswagen has decided to temporarily suspend hiring at its most important businesses: “Due to ongoing efficiency programs at Volkswagen AG, external recruitment will be temporarily limited and no external vacancies will be advertised”, said the spokesman of the German manufacturer. This applies to six sites in Lower Saxony and Hesse, Germany: Wolfsburg, Hannover, Braunschweig, Salzgitter, Emden and Kassel.

Volkswagen: radical economy measures

The context of this event: performance programwhich the Volkswagen brand is negotiating with its works council from October 2023. This program is considered restructuring measureand will create several problems for the German company to start return to profitability.

Europe’s biggest carmaker blamed its weak sales figures on, among other things, high production costs and a shift to cheaper cars. In addition, the loss of production at a supplier following floods in Slovenia negatively impacted Volkswagen’s results in the third quarter of 2023.

In the first nine months of 2023, operating sales of the main brand fell to 3.4%, while last year the operating margin was 4.7%. So this summer, the German company announced a new productivity program aimed at cut costs by 10 billion euros by 2026and also increase the return on investment to 6.5%.

Congratulations on the hiring freeze

The Volkswagen Works Council was sympathetic to the hiring freeze announcement: “Given recent efficiency efforts, it is clear that the company is now reducing job creation through new hires to a strict minimum”said the spokesman: “We see this as an opportunity to advance the key issue of internal transformation even more purposefully than before”.

Volkswagen clarifies that the hiring freeze will not affect current hiring processes, and there are exceptions for absolutely necessary tasks, such as complying with legal obligations. Last October, VW denied rumors that up to 4,000 administrative jobs were to be cut as part of its efficiency programme.

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