Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

JOBS

VW says it can’t rule out job cuts amid plans for electric new start

German car giant Volkswagen said Thursday it is looking for three billion euros in new savings to help fund its pivot towards electric vehicles, adding that it could not rule out job cuts.

Published: 6 December 2018 14:14 CET

VW says it can't rule out job cuts amid plans for electric new start

Photo: DPA

Without more savings, profitability at VW's historic own-brand cars division “will not be enough to be completely ready for the future,” said Arno Antlitz, chief financial officer at the unit, adding “enormous investments” were needed.

The belt-tightening drive comes on top of a programme launched in 2017 that has already found €2.2 billion of savings, the group said.

Added together, the schemes should allow the unit to achieve a profit margin of “at least six percent” by 2022, three years earlier than planned and up from the four to five percent it aims for in 2020.

After admitting in 2015 to manipulating millions of diesel vehicles worldwide to appear less polluting in regulatory tests, Volkswagen hopes to leave its “dieselgate” scandal behind with a massive electrification programme.

SEE ALSO: Volkswagen says next generation of combustion engine cars will be its last

The sprawling 12-brand group said in mid-November it would invest €44 billion by 2023 to speed up the transition away from internal combustion engines — including €11 billion at the core VW brand alone.

Costs have been slashed by reducing the number of variants of each car, increasing productivity at the group's plants and “optimising raw materials costs”.

The group provided no estimates of the impact its new savings drive would have on jobs, but “further cuts to staffing will be inevitable,” a senior manager told business daily Handelsblatt.

“There are opportunities for cuts in administration,” finance chief Antlitz said, on top of the 21,000 job cuts worldwide by 2020 already planned for the VW own-brand division.

Germany's vital car industry has fallen behind on electric cars compared with foreign competitors, only taking the technology more seriously since the 'dieselgate' scandal erupted.

Emissions cheating has so far cost VW €28 billion and sent sales of diesel vehicles plummeting in Germany and further afield.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

Url copied to clipboard!