Admin jobs

Volkswagen’s Skoda says cut 2% of administrative jobs in 2021

FILE PHOTO: A Skoda logo is pictured during the Volkswagen Group’s annual general meeting in Berlin, Germany May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt

PRAGUE (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s Skoda Auto aims to cut 2% of administrative jobs in the Czech Republic in 2021 by not replacing departing staff rather than through layoffs, the country’s biggest automaker said on Thursday.

Skoda, the Czech Republic’s largest exporter, employs around 42,000 people worldwide. Although most of those employees are employed locally, the company declined to provide details on the local workforce or the number of administrative positions.

The CTK news agency estimated the number of Skoda employees in the Czech Republic at 34,000.

“This year, we will be able to reduce our administrative staff by 2% thanks to the changing demographic curve and natural fluctuations,” Skoda spokesman Tomas Kotera said in response to questions by email.

“We aim to achieve this without dismissing for organizational reasons,” he added.

Earlier on Thursday, Skoda unions said the company planned to cut “indirect” staff – meaning those not involved in actual production – by 5% each year over the period of three years ending in 2023.

Skoda declined to comment on this figure.

Reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle