Cost-cutting measure: Report: VW wants to freeze many salaries worldwide

After the planned reduction of a further 50,000 jobs, Volkswagen is now also targeting remuneration, according to a report. For many employees, wage increases could not occur for years.

According to a media report, the ailing car manufacturer Volkswagen wants to freeze the salaries of many of its employees worldwide until 2030 in order to reduce costs. As the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” writes, this emerges from internal documents available to the paper.

According to the information, foregoing wage increases could mean a real loss of income of around ten percent for those affected due to inflation. The plans could mean further restrictions for the group's 275,000 employees in Germany.

The newspaper based its information on internal documents in which the Group Target Picture future plan decided by the board of directors is prepared for international management. This talks about a “realignment” of international collective bargaining.

The new guidelines for the negotiations, which will apply from the fourth quarter, provide for a “pay freeze until 2030”, a freezing of salaries until 2030 by “suspending wage increases”. The guidelines also include the reduction of variable compensation components, special payments and benefits - as well as job cuts.

If the guidelines are implemented, the general conditions in the individual parts of the VW Group would be taken into account, according to the SZ in the papers. According to the documents, all brands, regions and companies should make an “appropriate” contribution to the savings targets, the newspaper writes. When asked, VW said it would not comment on “such speculations”.

Like other German car manufacturers, Volkswagen is currently in a deep crisis. At the beginning of September, the Supervisory Board decided to cut a further 50,000 jobs worldwide in the coming years - in addition to the 50,000 job cuts already agreed upon. In addition, four plants in Germany are at risk from 2031 to 2034.