Volkswagen says 20,000 workers agree to early exits

[BERLIN] Volkswagen said about 20,000 employees will voluntarily leave the company by the end of the decade as the carmaker restructures its German operations to cope with uneven demand for its vehicles.

Gunnar Kilian, Volkswagen’s head of human relations and board member, told employees on Tuesday (Jun 3) at a workers assembly in Wolfsburg that the company’s restructuring plans are on track.

“With measurable progress on factory costs in Wolfsburg and socially responsible job cuts at Volkswagen’s six German sites alone, we are accelerating our transformation,” Kilian said. “Around 20,000 departures from the company by 2030 have already been contractually agreed.”

The total represents more than half of the 35,000 headcount reduction target, which the company aims to do without compulsory layoffs. BLOOMBERG