Volkswagen’s management is planning a cost-cutting programme: not only will bonus payments be scrapped, but employee salaries will also be reduced by ten percent (see video above). But how much do they actually earn?
ntv.de asked. Most employees in production receive 3,900 to 4,300 euros gross per month. Bachelor’s degree graduates start at 5,300 euros, master’s graduates from 5,600 euros. Masters are just above that (5950 euros). Those who have a lot of responsibility can earn more.
Lowest salary 2400 euros gross
The lowest salary in the house contract (does not apply in Osnabrück and Saxony, please note) is around 2,400 euros gross. An annual bonus is added to all salary levels (replacing holiday and Christmas bonuses, note), and there are allowances for night and Sunday work. The regular working hours are 35 hours per week. Full-time employees of the German car manufacturer also have more vacation time than employees of other companies, namely 36 days a year.
By comparison, the average gross salary of German full-time employees across all sectors was just under 4,500 euros last year. Managers and specialists at VW earn considerably more than this income. According to the report, they are paid according to their own collective labor agreement and receive more than 8,000 euros, sometimes more than 9,000 euros gross per month.
The board also wants to save on itself
However, in the future the conditions should be based on the rest of the sector. As reported, bonus payments must be abolished and collective wages must be reduced by ten percent. The board of directors also wants to save money on its own. This fixed salary must be reduced by five percent. VW boss Oliver Blume received an income of 1.3 million euros last year, and HR director Gunnar Kilian received almost 5.6 million euros.
The next hearing is on November 21. 120,000 employees are affected. In the worst case, they are not threatened with a reduction in their salary, but rather with job loss. The German company has also announced factory closures.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
