German automaker Volkswagen has stopped hiring new staff at its core brand until the end of 2020, VW’s brand’s chief stated on Wednesday.
Despite some recovery in demand, car sales continue to remain below levels observed before the coronavirus crisis, Ralf Brandstaetter stated during an interview which was published in an internal VW newsletter.
“We remain under substantial cost pressure. Deliveries and therefore revenue has dropped sharply. At the same time, a large number of costs remain. This is why we have decided not to add new people,” Brandstaetter said.
Volkswagen’s job guarantees for German workers until 2029 continue to be in place, he said.
The company’s works council chief Bernd Osterloh stated that without external hiring, the automaker needs to do more to retrain current staff.
In an interview with the Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, Osterloh informed that he expected production at the plant located in Wolfsburg this year to drop to around 500,000 cars, rather than the original plan of 700,000 cars.
Osterloh also informed the paper he would stand for re-election as head of the company’s powerful works council if labor representatives and employees supported the move.
Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant is right now unable to produce 3,000 cars on daily basis because it has cut down to a two-shift system, Osterloh informed another local paper, the Wolfsburger Nachrichten.
