German luxury car maker Audi, owned by embattled Volkswagen Group, will cut up to 7,500 jobs in Germany by the end of 2029, the company and the works council announced on Monday, following extensive negotiations.
Together with other financial cuts for employees, the move aims to save the carmaker more than 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion) per year in the medium term.
The company and the works council had wrangled over the savings plan, but have now agreed on a concept. Works council chairperson Jorg Schlagbauer said the company originally planned to eliminate 12,000 jobs.
"Audi needs to become faster, more agile, and more efficient. One thing is clear: this won’t be possible without workforce adjustments," management board chairperson Gernot Dollner said.
But Dollner emphasized that "there will be no redundancies for operational reasons until the end of 2033. In difficult economic times, that is good news for all employees."
The current job security program, which excludes compulsory redundancies, will be extended until the end of 2033. It previously applied until the end of 2029.
Audi also said it plans to invest 8 billion euros in its German sites.
"We are positioning Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm to be robust and flexible for the challenging transition to electric mobility," Dollner said. Ingolstadt is near Munich and Neckarsulm is near Stuttgart.
