The automaker had planned to offer permanent employment to 540 employees hired on temporary contracts in recent years. However, it was unable to do so for 269 of them.
"Volkswagen continues to be 100% convinced of the path to electromobility ... however, in light of the current market conditions we can not extend 269 contracts which will run out shortly after a 12-month duration," the spokesman told Reuters.
About 10,700 people work at the plant. It produces six electric vehicle models from three Volkswagen Group brands.
Volkswagen had announced in 2018 that it would spend 1.2 billion euros ($1.29 billion) to convert the plant to electric vehicle production, keeping the workforce stable despite the fact that electric vehicles require less labor than internal combustion vehicles due to increased productivity.
But the German carmaker now faces growing competition from Tesla and a growing number of Chinese automakers, as well as dampened demand in the European EV market due to high inflation and subsidy cuts.
Source: Reuters
