Volkswagen to have 500,000 employees next year – CEO

Volkswagen Group – Europe’s largest automaker plan to create new jobs, Bild am Sonntag reported.

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn believes Volkswagen could expand its global staff population by up to 10 per cent next year.

In an interview with the German newspaper - Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn told “If anything, more. Perhaps around 500,000.” The company currently has 449,000 employees across the world.

When asked about the future of the Euro-Zone, the executive said the euro is imperative for Germany to be globally competitive.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE Chief Executive Matthias Mueller expects headcount to increase about 10%, the newspaper reports, without giving a timeframe for the expected rise.

In addition, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said the company plans to hire 10,000 new workers by 2020, according to the newspaper.

As expected, the planned expansion comes as Winterkorn continues to press forward to meet the company’s goal of becoming the world’s largest car manufacturer by 2018.
Europe’s largest carmaker sold 688,000 vehicles in October, bringing the total number sold so far this year to 6.8 million. This is up 13.8 per cent on the prior period.

“Developments so far have been very encouraging. We made a good start to the fourth quarter, too,” the Group Board member for Sales, Christian Klingler, commented.
“However, given the present economic uncertainty and its impact on the automotive industry, we cannot take the fourth quarter for granted. We will continue to keep a very close eye on the situation over the coming months as developments on global markets remain volatile,” Klingler added.

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• Volkswagen Group added 100,000 new jobs in 2011, bringing the total to 500,000
• Vw wants to sell one million cars in China in 2009
• VW sold 8 million cars in 2011, more than Toyota
• VW Sells MQB Platform?
• VW Polo plug-in hybrid is in the works
• VW boss cautious about 2012, satisfied with November sales
• VW announces €200 million investment in Portuguese plant next year