According to the German press of this weekend (Focus, Spiegel and Bildzeitung),Volkswagen's management intends to negotiate with its work's council a return to the 35 hours work-week (up from 28,8 hours currently) in its six "West German" factories, without wage compensation. A spokesman for VW refused to comment on these "speculations", asserting that the management initially intended to start talks with staff representatives. (Ref. 06128)
On February 10, the first European car manufacturer created a shock in Germany by announcing a new drastic restructuring plan in spite of results better than expected. In 2005, its benefit after taxes reached 1,12 billion euros, that is to say a rise of 62% compared to 2004.
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