The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Manufacturing Manufacture For Transport Equipment Manufacture Of Motor Vehicles, Trailers And Semi-Trailers 29.10 - Manufacture of motor vehicles
20,000 - 23,000 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
18 November 2016
Employment effect (start)
18 November 2016
Foreseen end date
31 December 2025
Description
On 18 November 2016, Volkswagen, Europe's largest car producer announced to cut up to 30,000 jobs worldwide until 2025. Out of these jobs, up to 23,000 jobs will be lost in Germany. The affected sites are Emden, Wolfsburg, Hanover, Salzgitter, Braunschweig, Kassel, Zwickau, Dresden and Chemnitz. International job cuts will affect Volkswagen's sites in North and South America.
Volkswagen made clear that there will not be any direct dismissals. The company plans to reduce their staff through partial and early retirement. In addition, the number of temporary workers will be reduced. Volkswagen and their works council negotiated an agreement ruling out compulsory redundancies at least until 2025.
Furthermore, Volkswagen offers up-skilling due to plans to strengthen the production of electric mobility. The restructuring also includes the creation of up to 9,000 new job in this promising field. According to the management, these jobs will be filled mainly with internal personnel.
Volkswagen struggled with low profits in the last years and even more since their emissions test scandal. The company wants to reduce their number of models and equipment variants.
Already in March 2016, Volkswagen announced a cut of up to 3,000 jobs in Germany, see (Volkswagen 2016). At the moment, it is not clear if the 3,000 job cuts are additional or included in the number above.
Sources
18 November 2016: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online)
18 November 2016: Die Zeit online
18 November 2016: Tagesschau (online)
Citation
Eurofound (2016), Volkswagen, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 89125, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/89125.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
