Volkswagen proposes freezing wages, while the IG Metall union opposes the measure

Riana Gegiu

20 October 2026, 13:03

International

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Volkswagen management is proposing to freeze wages at their current level amid falling sales and the largest restructuring program in the German group’s history. The measure is due to be discussed during negotiations scheduled for this week.

Employee representatives consider the proposal unrealistic and are preparing to oppose it. The IG Metall union maintains that wage developments must be determined through negotiations between the company and its employees, not by a unilateral decision of the executive management.

Volkswagen has not confirmed reports in the media, describing them as speculation, but said the next round of negotiations will address possible measures concerning personnel costs. According to internal documents cited by Süddeutsche Zeitung, the absence of pay increases could reduce employees’ real incomes by approximately 10%. The plans would also include cuts to bonuses, special payments and certain benefits.

Pressure on the company is being intensified by falling deliveries. In the third quarter, Volkswagen delivered approximately 1.89 million vehicles, 14.3% fewer than in the same period a year earlier. In China, the decline reached 38.5%, while global sales fell by approximately 9% in the first nine months, to just over six million vehicles.

Context: Volkswagen accelerates restructuring in Germany after financial pressures and declining profits

Before the round of negotiations on personnel costs, Volkswagen signaled that the measures discussed last year were no longer sufficient: the company lowered its estimate for the operating profit margin to no more than 1% (from a minimum of 4%) and announced that it was considering eliminating another 50,000 positions worldwide, with a potential impact on approximately 100,000 jobs. The pressure also came after a sharp decline in profit at Porsche SE, which controls 31.9% of Volkswagen, prompting shareholders to call for the restructuring program to be accelerated.

Against the backdrop of these plans, employees protested in Germany at Volkswagen plants and at factories belonging to other automotive companies and suppliers, in more than 280 locations. The IG Metall union called for jobs to be protected and for measures to reduce energy costs and counter cheap imports, while also warning that workers should not have to bear the consequences of management decisions made in previous years.