Volkswagen Refines Savings Plans

Europe's largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen, aims to trim 30 percent from its personnel costs by 2011 in Germany through longer working hours, lower wages, and a stronger focus on performance-oriented payment. "The labor costs at VW are significantly higher than at our German competitors," the head of VW's personnel department, Josef-Fidelis Senn, told the Tagesspiegel. If VW is successful in achieving the projected savings, Senn said that Germany will be an even more desirable location than foreign countries where labor costs are typically lower. VW also plans to reduce the amount it pays its trainees, and do away with the regulation that guaranteed all trainees follow-on jobs at VW. In return, the company has promised to increase the number of trainee positions by 20 percent.