Sources of the company reported on Sunday that Carmaker Volkswagen plans to cut its German plants by offering early or partial retirement for older employees on a move that could cost several hundred million Euros.
In a statement, Volkwagen stated that it had agreed to plan a partial retirement scheme for those who were created in 1964 and to offer early retirement to those born between 1956 and 1960.
Volkswagen said it expected that up to 900 people would opt for early retirement, while a small number of thousands would opt for a partial retirement without an accurate figure.
In conjunction with the programme to be implemented at the six main German plants of the VW brand, which now employ approximately 120,000 people, two sources reported 3,000-4,000 positions to Reuters.
The Handelsblatt newspaper, which reported the plan earlier, said it was going to cut up to 5,000 jobs.
Volkswagen refused to comment on the cost, depending on the number of employees who accepted the offer. It was estimated at almost EUR 500 million from one source (598 million dollars).
As the 83-year-old automaker is trying to become another Tesla modelling technology company, Volkswagen said it raised the training budget from EUR 40 million to EUR 200 million.
Volkswagen also said that the hiring freeze would be extended until the end of 2021. It was only in place until the first quarter. External hires can only be made in areas such as electric cars, digitalization and battery cell development.
The Volkswagen Group stated that it would reduce overhead costs by 5% and procurement costs by 7% over the next two years in January.
