Volkswagen AG concludes 'Zukunft Volkswagen' joint agreement

Following intensive negotiations between Volkswagen AG, IG Metall (Germany's dominant metalworkers' union), and the Works Council, all parties involved have come to a joint agreement, titled 'Zukunft Volkswagen'.

This conclusion will see Volkswagen AG and the employee representatives agree on a vision for the company that will combine job security, financial stability, and a leading technological position in the field of sustainable mobility, with the jointly declared goal for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand – the core of Volkswagen AG – to become the technologically leading volume manufacturer globally by 2030.

With capacity reduction across its German plants and a sustainable decrease in labour costs, the financial conditions have now been met for the goal. Job security for Volkswagen AG's workforce will also be provided until the end of 2030, as per negotiations. In addition, the brand and the Works Council have also agreed on a socially responsible reduction in the former's workforce (around 4,000 jobs) across its German sites by 2030.

At company level, an agreement has also been reached to introduce new structures and technologies to Volkswagen's German plants to ensure competitiveness. This will mean that production capacity in Germany will be reduced by about 734,000 units, in response to the decreasing market and fierce competition in Europe, while also creating continued commercially viable production at the brand's home base in Germany.