German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW), as part of its austerity program, plans to cancel the payment of bonuses to certain employees. The measure could affect around 10,000 workers, writes Bild newspaper.
This issue has been raised during ongoing collective bargaining. “We have made this offer,” said a Volkswagen spokesman. In accordance with the current contract, a one-time bonus of 1.45 monthly wages is paid for 25 years of work at VW, and 2.9 monthly wages for 35 years. As the works council has highlighted, the cancellation of payments could affect more than 10,000 employees, if we include those with two years or less until their anniversary.
On October 30, Volkswagen, during collective negotiations with the industrial union IG Metall, representing the interests of employees, made a proposal to reduce wages by 10%. Previously, the DPA agency, citing the head of the Volkswagen works council, Daniela Cavallo, reported that the concern plans to close three plants in Germany and cut tens of thousands of jobs. Whole departments have to be closed or moved abroad. These plans, according to Cavallo, affect all Volkswagen plants in Germany.
Volkswagen noted that restructuring is the only way to remain competitive in the long term. The German government, as its representative Wolfgang Büchner said, believes that the company should keep the jobs. In Germany, about 120,000 people work in VW factories, about half of them in Wolfsburg. The VW brand manages a total of 10 factories in the country.