Volkswagen plans to cut up to 4,000 jobs from its factory in Germany, offering partial retirement to its older employees, sources close to the matter said.
The sources allegedly said the positions would be cups in the six German factories as part of a retirement plan that Volkswagen previously announced. The agency notes that the German newspaper Handelsblatt previously reported that 5,000 jobs would be cut.
Volkswagen said in a statement that it had agreed to a plan with the workers’ council to offer partial retirement to those born in 1964 and early retirement to employees born from 1956 to 1960, according to Reuters. This change will cost the company several hundred million euros.
Although the automaker declined to comment on the story, a source told Reuters the program could cost up to 500 million euros ($ 598 million).
Volkswagen said it expects 900 employees to accept the early retirement offer, while a few thousand will go into partial retirement. According to Reuters, the six German factories of the main VW brand currently employ 120,000 people.
The automaker also said it would extend its contract freeze until the end of 2021, after saying earlier that the freeze would last until the end of the first quarter.