VW Is Firing Hundreds For Unexplained Absences

The German automaker that's going through major changes says absenteeism costs it roughly €1 billion annually

Car Talk, Autos Oct 1, 2025 0 14 Add to Reading List

VW Is Firing Hundreds For Unexplained Absences

The firings come as VW institutes production halts at several factories in Germany.
Production cut will be made for slow-selling models like the VW ID.4, ID.7, and T-Roc Cabriolet.
VW does plan to increase production of the Golf, Tiguan, and Tayron this year.

If you work at Volkswagen, you’d better show up to work or have a very good excuse why you don’t, otherwise you could join the growing list of employees who’ve been sacked for unexcused absences this year.

The German carmaker has revealed that, through the first half of 2025, it has terminated 548 employees across its global workforce for violating regulations, mostly related to unexcused absences. Over the same period, a total of 2,079 warnings were issued to staff. It’s expected that hundreds of other workers will be sacked this year due to excessive absences.

Going AWOL Has Consequences

While speaking at an event last year, VW brand boss Thomas Schafer said that absenteeism cost the brand roughly €1 billion ($1.17 billion) annually. Employees were recently warned through VW’s intranet system that repeated absences without a valid reason could lead to immediate dismissal, Bild reports.

Read: VW Didn’t Fire Them But Tens Of Thousands Of Workers Are Still Walking Away

It’s worth noting that the company has more than 560,000 global employees, so the sackings only account for a tiny proportion of its workforce. However, it plans significant cuts in the coming years and will eliminate 35,000 jobs in Germany alone by 2030.

Production Cuts

These firings come just as a drop in demand has prompted the carmaker to make several manufacturing changes. As we recently reported, production at several VW sites will be halted this month. This will include work at the Zwickau and Dresden sites, both of which will be taken offline for a week starting October 6.

Adding Up To Existing Trouble

And that’s not all. Manager Magazin reports that production at the Osnabrück site will be halted for a week this month and will be closed at least one day every week until the end of the year. Both the Zwickau and Dresden sites handle production of several EVs, including the ID.4 and ID.7, while the Osnabrück facility handles production of the T-Roc Cabriolet, which is expected to be axed next year.

If there’s a silver lining to this dark cloud is the fact that VW is experiencing strong demand for the Golf, Tiguan, and Tayron and will add special shifts to its Wolfsburg plant to increase production through to Christmas.