Volkswagen plans to freeze salaries until 2030, works council says

Volkswagen plans to freeze salaries for its 660,000 staff worldwide until 2030, the group's works council said on Monday, confirming an earlier report by Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The Global Works Council said it had received internal information about the executive board's plans

Volkswagen declined to comment on "speculation". A spokesperson added that a new round of talks later this week would be the forum for any proposals on labour costs


The works council called the management's approach "absurd" and said it expected strong resistance to what is described as the plan's "rather unrealistic" implementation

"At Volkswagen, pay development is decided at the negotiating table, not by decree from the executive boardroom," a spokesperson for Germany's trade union IG Metall said

Relations between Volkswagen and its labour representatives have deteriorated in recent months, as CEO Oliver Blume pushes ahead with the most radical restructuring in the German auto group's history

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported the news earlier on Monday, citing internal documents

The absence of pay rises could mean a loss of income of around 10% for those affected, due to inflation, the paper said

The paper report said the new global management guidelines, effective from the fourth quarter, also include cuts to variable pay, special payments, benefits, and jobs.