VW's German workers win raises in pay deal

5/28/2013

FRANKFURT, Germany — Volkswagen’s German factory workers will get a two-stage raise under a new wage deal reached as the automaker grapples with slipping sales and profit.

The company said today it agreed with the IG Metall union on increases of 3.4 percent from Sept. 1 and 2.2 percent from July 1 of next year through February 2015. The agreement covers 102,000 workers in six west German auto plants.

Volkswagen AG personnel head Horst Neumann said the deal went “to the limit” of what a tough auto market would allow.

Volkswagen, whose brands also include Audi, Porsche, SEAT and Skoda, saw profit fall 38 percent in the first quarter as European car sales slumped in a recession. Sales of VW brand vehicles fell 7.9 percent in the first four months of the year.