HANOVER (dpa-AFX) - German carmaker Volkswagen is to expand its part-time
working scheme for older employees and offer severance packages as
part of its cost-cutting programme, according to an internal
communication seen by dpa on Monday.

In addition to employees born in 1967, for whom the part-time scheme
was recently made available, the deadline to join the scheme will be
extended for those born in 1965 and 1966, for whom similar programmes
were already in force, with severance packages also offered to
younger workers.

A Volkswagen spokeswoman confirmed the information to dpa.

In the internal document, human resources executive Gunnar Kilian was
quoted as saying that the group was proceeding with its restructuring
programme in a focused way and had reached agreement with the works
council with the aim of cutting staff costs in administration by 20%
by 2026.

The cutbacks are part of an efficiency drive outlined last year.
Volkswagen agreed the basic points with the works council in
December, including that compulsory redundancies would be avoided.
The company has not set a figure on the number of jobs to be cut,
saying that the issue is costs, not headcount.

'We are seeing great interest in our attractively designed age-based
part-time working scheme,' Kilian wrote. Average payments of 85% of
full pay were providing workers with a transition to a financially
secure retirement, he said, adding that the group was reducing staff
in a socially responsible way.


Copyright dpa