Volkswagen is planning to reduce its workforce in other west European countries, besides Germany.
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VW board member responsibile for human resources, Horst Neumann, told a local German newspaper that the company would be addressing workforce reduction in western Europe. It currently employs around 35,000 people in western Europe (outside of Germany). The majority is in Spain.
Neumann would not specify any figures. He added that with the new work contract in place in Germany, plants there have become much more competitive. “We are finally in a similar position to other German manufacturers,” he said. Volkswagen is looking to reduce its workforce in west Germany by around 20,000 people.
According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) there are now plans to transfer more production to Wolfsburg, while there are plans to considerably reduce capacity and output in Belgium, Spain and Portugal. No plant closures are currently planned. The next Volkswagen supervisory board meeting on 17 November is expected to address the issue of reducing output at non-German plants, according to dpa-AFX.
The FAZ said that there are plans to transfer almost all (80-130,000 units) Golf production from Belgium to Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg would then produce around 460,000 cars a year and reach almost full capacity.
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