The carmaker and biggest private employer in the country, Volkswagen Slovakia, might fire up to 3,000 workers, wrote the Aktuality.sk portal last week. "The management of the company informed of possible lay-offs. However, it could happen only if our plant does not receive any new model in coming years," said Zoroslav Smolinský, head of the so called Modern Trade Union Volkswagen.
According to Volkswagen Slovakia spokesperson Lucia Makayová, the carmaker will scrap one shift each in two production segments over the course of 2019. The step should be taken due to changed framework conditions and with an eye towards a more efficient use of investments and the increased technical capacity of production lines. Moreover, the measure is in line with Volkswagen's goal to optimize corporate operations by 30% by 2025.
In the SUV segment, the company will revert back to a standard three-shift model from four shifts and in the small city car segment reduce the two-shift operation to a single shift.
The change will affect a large group of employees: some personnel will be reassigned to affiliated Volkswagen facilities, personnel from Audi Hungaria will return to their mother company and there will be no replacements in the wake of the natural fluctuation of employees. Furthermore, the company intends to start extending fixed-term contracts on a more selective basis and introduce restrictions in the use of employees hired via agencies.
"Company employees were informed about the current situation at length with respect to the change in shift models, the reasons behind it and the measures taken. The company will put great emphasis on social responsibility and will provide active help to the affected employees in finding employment," said Makayová.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Slovakia is the country most endangered by automatisation in the OECD formation. The organization warns that 70% of jobs in Slovakia are at danger due to technological progress.
On the other hand, according to the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry, the Slovak job market will need an additional half a million workers by the end of 2023.
