Volkswagen wants Škoda Auto wages frozen until 2030, Czech unions say

The Volkswagen Group is demanding a freeze on Škoda Auto employees' wages until 2030, the KOVO unions reported. According to them, bonuses and premiums are also included, and the unions categorically reject the demand.

As the carmaker's union publication writes, management admitted to employees for the first time that the situation is serious and could affect plant utilisation and employment in the future.

Unions threaten to halt production

Works council chairman Jaroslav Povšík said: “We are being asked to accept zero percent, no supplements, bonuses or premiums, while at the same time we are expected to do many times more work in electromobility. This is no longer solidarity, but a blow to honest, hard-working Škoda employees.”

He said that if it comes to layoffs, the unions will halt production at all three sites and will not back down until the situation is put right. These are the plants in Mladá Boleslav, Kvasiny and Vrchlabí. In total, Škoda Auto employs about 36,500 people, including agency workers.

Employees learned of the demand at meetings last week in Mladá Boleslav and on Monday in Kvasiny. The next one will take place on Thursday in Vrchlabí.

Škoda earns more than Volkswagen

The Czech brand is doing better than the group's flagship. Škoda Auto's global sales in the first three quarters rose 6.1 percent to 812,400 cars. Sales of the whole group, by contrast, fell nine percent, to roughly six million vehicles.

The difference in profitability is even more striking: Škoda's margin exceeds eight percent, while the VW brand had only 2.4 percent in the first half. Škoda now earns even more on each car than premium Audi.

The biggest restructuring in VW history

Volkswagen is struggling with high costs, overcapacity, growing competition from China and US tariffs. Last month the supervisory board approved the largest restructuring plan in the company's history: by the end of the decade the group wants to cut up to 100,000 jobs worldwide and halve the number of models.

The closure of four German plants, in Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm, is also not ruled out. The unions and VW management want to decide their fate next year. For now, austerity measures will be introduced there. The editors are seeking Škoda Auto's reaction.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz