BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen plans to cut up to 4,000 jobs at its factories in Germany, offering early or partial retirement to older employees, in a move that could cost several hundred million euros, company sources said on Sunday.
Volkwagen said in a statement that he agreed to a plan with the workers council to open partial retirement for those born in 1964, while offering early retirement for those born from 1956 to 1960.
Volkswagen said it expects up to 900 workers to opt for early retirement, while a small number in the thousands would opt for partial retirement, without providing an accurate number.
Two company sources told Reuters that 3,000 to 4,000 jobs would be cut in connection with the program to be implemented at the six German factories of VW’s main brand, which now employ about 120,000 people.
The Handelsblatt newspaper, which previously reported on the plan, said the company would cut up to 5,000 jobs.
Volkswagen declined to comment on the cost, which will depend on how many employees accept the offer. One source estimated it at around 500 million euros ($ 598 million).
While the 83-year-old automaker is trying to become another Tesla-based technology company, Volkswagen said it was increasing its training budget by 40 million euros to 200 million.
Volkswagen said it was also extending the hiring freeze until the end of 2021. Previously, it was only in effect until the first quarter. External hiring can only be done in areas such as electric cars, digitization and battery development.
The Volkswagen Group said in January that it would cut overhead costs by 5% and acquisition costs by 7% over the next two years.
Reporting by Jan Schwartz, written by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Edmund Blair