VW is planning massive changes: partial retirement as the key to job cuts!

VW is planning massive changes: partial retirement as the key to job cuts!

Far-reaching changes are imminent at Volkswagen that will affect the working hours and employment of many employees. From July 1, 2025, all full-time employees will have to work 35 hours a week. This measure is part of the future collective agreement of December 20, 2024 and was included in the VW shell agreement in order to create greater clarity and regulations for working hours. However, those who are employed in part-time retirement are exempt from this new regulation news38 reported.

The discussion about working hours comes at a particularly bad time. VW plans to cut around 35,000 jobs in Germany by 2030, which corresponds to around 27 percent of the total workforce of 130,000 employees. Redundancies for operational reasons are excluded, which increases the focus on partial retirement. This should play a key role in job cuts. Around 24,000 employees could leave through this regulation by then, which corresponds to 70 percent of the planned job cuts, explained heise.

Partial retirement as part of the savings program

In order to complete the reduction, Volkswagen is expanding partial retirement. Earlier access is now also open to those born in 1968, and the deadline for the graduation regulations for those born in 1965 to 1967 has been extended. Around 4,000 employees are affected, which, according to the works council, is more than just a drop in the ocean. Companies want to enable a smoother transition into retirement.

The offer is particularly attractive: VW increases the salary for partial retirement to 78 to 95 percent of the previous net salary. In addition, the company continues to pay full contributions to statutory pension insurance and company pension schemes. For many employees, this means that they can feel financially secure while they remain productive at work in the first half of the usually seven-year term, while they can stay at home in the second half of the period betting.de.

Lack of severance pay for production

The step towards partial retirement is not only a reaction to the necessary reduction in the number of employees, but also a clear offer for the workforce. While severance payments were previously only available for administrative employees, employees in production should now also benefit from them. Last year, severance packages of up to 450,000 euros were offered to encourage office workers to vacate their positions and ease the transition.

Overall, it is clear that VW is facing major challenges, both in terms of compliance with new working hours and the necessary reduction in the number of employees. However, through strategic measures such as expanding partial retirement, the automotive giant wants to both reduce its costs and enable the affected employees to exit their working lives with dignity. This is of great importance not only for VW, but especially for its employees.