Volkswagen to pay increased 4,100-euro bonus to German workers

Volkswagen will raise bonus payments to its staff based in Germany by more than 40 percent after the automaker posted record profit and sales last year, a labor union publication revealed.

The annual bonus for 2017 will be increased to 4,100 euros ($5,088.10) per employee from 2,905 euros a year previously, according to the publication read by Reuters that will be distributed to personnel on Thursday. The bonus will impact about 120,000 workers in Volkswagen’s (VW) home market.

VW group profit almost doubled in 2017 to 13.8 billion euros with sales up 6 percent to a new record even as the automaker shoulders a costly shift to electric and self-driving vehicles while facing the costs for its emissions scandal.

“Workers had a significant share (in the fact) that the VW brand, regardless of all hardships, is in a better position today,” brand chief executive Herbert Diess stated.