- Works meeting attended by 18,000 employees in Wolfsburg
The Volkswagen Group has completed the 2012 financial year successfully, despite a difficult market environment. The Group sold more than 9 million vehicles for the first time in 2012 and now has more than 550,000 employees. “2013 is going to be difficult and the situation in our domestic market, Europe, is dramatic,” warned Dr. Horst Neumann, Member of the Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft Board of Management responsible for human resources, at a works meeting held at the Wolfsburg plant today. “The situation in southern and western Europe poses enormous challenges for carmakers who depend on this market. The competitive situation will remain very tough over the coming months.”
Dr. Horst Neumann
Some 18,000 employees of the Wolfsburg plant took part in the works meeting, which was also attended by the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and by Lower Saxony’s newly elected Minister-President, Stephan Weil, who is also a new member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft.
“With its excellent vehicles and its strong team, Volkswagen is very well-positioned,” said Neumann. “This is also evident from the employment figures. The Group has gained around 220,000 employees since 2007. 100,000 new jobs were created because many new customers are enthusiastic about our vehicles. We gained a further 119,000 employees through the expansion of the Group to include Scania, MAN, Porsche Holding Salzburg, Porsche AG and Ducati. Volkswagen is a reliable engine for employment.”
Despite the successes achieved, heightened risk awareness was necessary, said Neumann: “We must not become complacent. Competition is tougher than ever before and we need to work hard for success and growth. This is why first-class vehicles such as our new Golf 7, outstanding quality right down to the smallest detail, and flexible and efficient processes both in production and in other areas are more important than ever before.” He added that it would be important to maintain a balance between a fair basic salary, competitiveness and safeguarding jobs in the upcoming pay negotiations.
Despite and even because of the growing challenges, Volkswagen is making significant investments. “With €50.2 billion up to 2015, the Group has embarked on the largest investment program in its history,” Neumann underlined. “Volkswagen is investing throughout the world, in Europe, in Germany and in Wolfsburg. Volkswagen is investing in products, plants and the training of its employees.”
He added that high specialist competence, training and the multiplication of the knowledge available were extremely important for Volkswagen. Neumann stated that the dual vocational training system was the key to good craftsmanship. “Volkswagen already trains three quarters of its 16,500 apprentices throughout the world on the basis of the German dual training system. In addition to the Golf, the Audi A4 and the Porsche 911, this system is one of the Group’s most popular exports. Governments in other countries have recognized the fact that our training helps safeguard industrial jobs. There is tremendous international interest in our training model.”
Despite the more difficult situation on the European automobile market, the employees of Volkswagen AG covered by collective bargaining agreements are to receive a success-related bonus of €7,200. “This amount is only slightly lower than the record value for the previous year,” said Neumann. “The joint efforts of the Volkswagen team are therefore once again bringing benefits for each individual employee.”
In order to reduce traffic to and from work in Wolfsburg, a number of projects were already realized at the initiative of the Traffic Task Force last year. These included additional parking spaces for car pools, a bus shuttle inside the plant, bus services with new timetables and better connections, new car parks and a new autobahn exit lane. “Each building brick helps in improving traffic flow,” said Neumann. “That makes travel to and from work faster, providing a higher quality of life in our region. We will be making further improvements in 2013. These will also take into account suggestions received from our employees.”
The Human Resources Board Member also announced that Volkswagen was supporting local authorities in their efforts to develop childcare facilities near to the plant. “It is the task of local authorities to meet the demand for childcare. However, good childcare is also very important for us and our employees,” said Neumann. “This is why we have agreed with the municipality of Wolfsburg that we will provide initial financing to support the creation of 100 new nursery places for our employees’ children.”
