Job Losses Volkswagen subsidiary Audi cuts 7,500 jobs

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According to information obtained by dpa, Audi plans to eliminate 7,500 jobs in the coming years. Given the current situation, savings are necessary...

The job cuts, along with other financial reductions, are expected to save Audi employees over one billion euros per year in the medium term, according to this decision. The corporation and the works council had long and intensively negotiated the savings plans and are now evidently conceptually aligned. At one point, significantly higher numbers for job cuts were mentioned - around 12,000 jobs were at risk. Audi, it is said, needs to become faster, more agile, and more efficient. This inevitably has personnel consequences. However, there will be no operational layoffs until 2033, which Audi CEO Gernot Döllner views as a positive for the workforce. Prior to this, 2029 was considered the last year with job security.

Most of the affected Audi employees will be gone by 2027

At the same time, Audi plans to invest eight billion euros in its German locations. They aim to prepare Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm as robustly and flexibly as possible for the challenging transition to electric mobility. According to Audi, the job cuts will primarily occur in indirect areas. This means that production is unlikely to be significantly affected, but it will involve a reduction in bureaucracy. However, they do not intend to approach this situation with a "blanket" method. Instead, they will focus their team structure consistently and purposefully on the future demands. The first 6,000 positions are expected to be eliminated by 2027, with another 1,500 by the end of 2029. How the cuts will be divided between the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm locations is still uncertain.

No employee participation for Audi staff

Further cuts will impact Audi employees financially, as hinted at above. Among other things, the profit-sharing scheme will be structurally restructured and additionally reduced for several years. This involves significant amounts. In 2024, the profit share paid out for 2023 was a hefty 8,840 euros per person. However, the participation for 2024, which will be paid out this year, will not yet be affected by the current cut. Due to the recent poor business performance, it is likely to be lower. In the first nine months of last year, Audi's profit nearly halved. Audi has also been plagued by shortages of engine components, a weakening business in China, and provisions for the closure of the Brussels site. Exact figures will follow soon.

Audi works council has been able to block many issues

As further emphasized, the workforce makes a significant contribution to making the four Audi rings weatherproof and future-proof. They are also investing millions of euros in their own future. In return, it has been possible to ward off many other issues in tough, yet consistently fact- and solution-oriented negotiations from both sides. For instance, neither the collective monthly salary nor allowances and bonuses will be touched. Moreover, the pending wage increases will obviously not be postponed. The company's commitment to building the Q3 in Ingolstadt in the future is also of great importance. Additionally, a total of 1,000 jobs will be regained through so-called insourcing—this refers to the reintegration of previously outsourced processes or functions. Nevertheless, job cuts are unavoidable.

Union members at Audi can still look forward to benefits

Members of IG Metall can also look forward to an additional bonus in the future. This will take effect from 2026, as promised by Karola Frank, the chairwoman of IG Metall at Audi in Ingolstadt. Bavaria's IG Metall district manager, Horst Ott, praised the measure: “This rewards the solidarity of employees who support each other, ensure a strong IG Metall, and thereby make collective agreements and good negotiation outcomes possible.” In the discussions regarding the future agreement, all negotiating parties took responsibility, secured the collective agreement, and strengthened Audi's future in Germany.