Factbox-The main points of Volkswagen's deal with unions on German sites and jobs
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 20, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026

Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 20, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026

Volkswagen's deal with unions includes cutting 35,000 jobs in Germany by 2030, reducing plant capacity, and implementing a job protection scheme.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Here are the main points of a deal struck on Friday between Volkswagen and unions on the carmaker's German sites and jobs. The agreement followed more than 70 hours of talks and averted the spectre of strikes at Europe's largest carmaker.
- Volkswagen will reduce VW AG's staff in Germany by more than 35,000 jobs, or around a quarter of the division's workforce, by 2030 in a socially responsible way.
- Alongside the cuts, there will be a new job protection scheme that runs until 2030.
- Capacity at VW AG's German plants will be reduced by 734,000 units, which corresponds to roughly a quarter of VW AG's entire German capacity. Management had warned it was facing a shortfall in demand of about 500,000 cars, equivalent to about two plants.
- The measures bring down costs by 15 billion euros ($15.7 billion) a year over the medium term, with labour cost cuts and capacity cuts contributing around 4 billion annually together.
- None of VW AG's plants will be shut down.
- The future of Volkswagen AG's Osnabrueck factory beyond mid-2027 is uncertain though, with Volkswagen exploring alternative scenarios for the site's use. Lower Saxony state Premier Stephan Weil, who also sits on Volkswagen's supervisory board, said future options for Osnabrueck include a search for an investor.
- Volkswagen AG's Dresden plant, too, will stop vehicle production at end-2025, with VW examining options for the site, including "participating in a third-party concept".
- Production at VW's Wolfsburg plant, its biggest, will be cut to two assembly lines from four currently while production of the Golf and the Golf Variant will be shifted to VW's plant in Puebla, Mexico, from 2027.
- VW AG's staff will not get any raises under the collective wage agreement over the next four years, while some bonuses will be scrapped or reduced.
($1 = 0.9579 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Frances Kerry)
The main topic is Volkswagen's agreement with unions to reduce jobs and plant capacity in Germany by 2030.
Volkswagen will reduce plant capacity by 734,000 units and cut jobs, but no plants will shut down.
The workforce will be reduced by 35,000 jobs, with a new job protection scheme in place until 2030.
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