- Works meeting attended by 18,000 employees in Wolfsburg
- Success-related bonus of €6,200 for employees covered by collective bargaining agreements
- Training and knowledge transfer are investments in the future
The Volkswagen Group has completed the 2013 financial year successfully, despite a difficult market environment. The number of vehicles delivered rose by 4.9 percent to the record value of 9.73 million. Throughout the world, the Group now has 572,800 employees, with employee numbers growing by more than 20,000 in 2013. These figures were presented by Dr. Horst Neumann, Member of the Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft Board of Management responsible for Human Resources, at a works meeting held at the Wolfsburg plant on Wednesday and attended by about 18,000 employees. For the 2013 financial year, the employees of Volkswagen AG covered by collective bargaining agreements are to receive a success-related bonus of €6,200. This amount is the result of negotiations between the Works Council Chairmen of the Brunswick, Emden, Hanover, Kassel, Salzgitter and Wolfsburg plants and the Volkswagen Board of Management.
“We will be investing a total of €3.5 billion in Wolfsburg up to 2018,” said Neumann. “The training of young people is also an important investment in the future. With Volkswagen in Wolfsburg alone, 2235 apprentices and students are currently training within the practical training system.” Volkswagen transfers the know-how available within the company throughout the world through its vocational groups. “Our greatest strength are our people with their professional competence and their experience, their ideas and their passion. By protecting and transferring our know-how and skills and training our employees, we are investing in the future of each individual employee and the future of the company.”
The Human Resources Board Member said that the Volkswagen team had demonstrated strong performance in 2013 despite difficult conditions on its domestic market of Europe. For 2013, employees of Volkswagen AG covered by collective bargaining agreements are to receive a success-related bonus of €6,200. Neumann emphasized: “Thanks to strong efforts by the team, Volkswagen has performed better on the hotly contested European market than its competitors. These efforts will pay for each individual employee. The success-related bonus has been hard-earned. It is well-deserved and the justified share of our employees in our joint success.” Neumann also mentioned the benefits of the remuneration structure at Volkswagen: “Volkswagen pays a reasonable basic salary, honors outstanding team performance with a success-related bonus and rewards individual dedication with performance-related remuneration components.”
The Chairman of the General Works Council, Bernd Osterloh, said: “Despite difficult conditions on European markets, we can look back on a successful year. To a large extent, this is due to the dedication and performance of the team. With this bonus, the team is receiving its fair share in our business success.” Osterloh underlined: “The tough competitive situation has a direct impact on the amount of the bonus. Nevertheless, the success-related bonus which the Works Council has negotiated is at a high level.”
At the works meeting, Human Resources Board Member Dr. Neumann honored the achievements of Dr. Hubert Waltl, Board Member for Production, who is leaving Volkswagen to become Board Member for Production of AUDI AG with effect from 1 April 2014. He said that Waltl had taken the Volkswagen brand a considerable step forward. In his time as Board Member for Production, managing 80,000 employees throughout the world, 68 new models had been launched, two new Volkswagen brand plants had started production and 13 million vehicles had been delivered.
Neumann also honored the achievements of the departing Plant Manager at Wolfsburg, Prof. Dr. Siegfried Fiebig, who is to become Management Spokesperson of Volkswagen Sachsen. Together with his team, he had accomplished the start of production of the Golf 7 together with the use of the modular transverse matrix. “This was a strong pioneering achievement,” Neumann said. He added that Fiebig had been dedicated to the improvement of the traffic and office situation in Wolfsburg.
