The German trade union IG Metall stated on 19 October 2026 in a press release that the Volkswagen Group plans to freeze the wages of its more than 660,000 employees at this year's level until 2030. According to the union, employees were informed of the plan via the intranet by the European and global group works council. The union claims that the instruction not to raise wages had already been issued by the Group, effective from the beginning of October. The information had previously also been reported by the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
IG Metall said that the measure does not even include an adjustment for inflation, meaning that over four years it would amount to a real wage cut of ten percent or more. The union expects considerable resistance from employees. A Volkswagen spokesperson told the news agency DPA: „We do not comment on such speculation.“
The Group also includes Škoda Auto, which has about 36,500 employees including agency workers, and according to the Czech News Agency was seeking the automaker's reaction to the report. While sales of the Volkswagen Group fell by nine percent to around six million vehicles in the first three quarters of 2026, Škoda Auto's sales rose by 6.1 percent to 812,400 vehicles. Echo24 reports that the scope of any possible wage freeze is not yet clear, as the Group intends to take into account the situation at individual plants and markets.
Related entries: Škoda Auto
Reaction from Trade Unions at Škoda Auto
The KOVO trade union at Škoda Auto rejects Volkswagen Group's demand for a wage freeze, which it says also applies to this Czech manufacturer. According to the union biweekly Škodovácký odborář of 22 October 2026, the Group is demanding a freeze on the wages of Škoda Auto employees until 2030, including bonuses and premiums. According to the union, the automaker's management admitted before employees for the first time that the situation is serious and could jeopardize plant utilization and employment in the future.[3][4]
According to the biweekly, the chairman of the company council, Jaroslav Povšík, said that there should be no layoffs at Škoda. If layoffs began, he said, employees at all three Czech plants would halt production. He described Volkswagen's demand as an attack on Škoda's employees. Povšík also announced that he would run again for the leadership of the KOVO union.[3][4]
Employees learned of the demand at company meetings in Mladá Boleslav (a week before 22 October), in Kvasiny (19 October) and in Vrchlabí (22 October).[3][4] Both Škoda Auto and Volkswagen declined to comment on the information about a possible wage freeze, with Škoda stating that it would not comment on speculation. Škoda Auto had previously repeatedly stated that the Group's new transformation plan has no direct impact on its operations.[3]
The current wage agreement at Škoda Auto is valid until 31 March 2027. New wage negotiations await the automaker next year, and the unions describe them as exceptionally demanding; negotiations on social costs and annual working hours for 2027 are to take place this year. According to information the automaker provided to the Czech News Agency in March 2026, the average monthly earnings of non-management employees in 2025 amounted to CZK 81,691. Škoda employs about 36,500 people, including agency workers, at its three Czech plants in Mladá Boleslav, Kvasiny and Vrchlabí.[3]
Chronology
- — Trade unions at Škoda Auto reject the Volkswagen Group's demand for a wage freeze, which according to them also covers this Czech manufacturer. iDNES.cz Echo24
- — The IG Metall trade union said that the Volkswagen group, which includes Škoda Auto, plans to freeze its employees' wages until 2030; Volkswagen did not comment on the information. ČTK / České noviny Echo24
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 19 October 2026
- Echo24 — 19 October 2026
- iDNES.cz — 22 October 2026
- Echo24 — 22 October 2026