Volkswagen Announces €3,950 Employee Bonus for 2015 Fiscal Year

Yesterday, the German giant announced that those who are covered by the collective bargaining agreement are to receive a profit share of €3,950 gross for the fiscal year 2015.

If we remember correctly, the pre-tax bonus for the 2014 years was €5,900, so the employees will be receiving 2k less this year. But considering 2015 is the worst year for VW in living memory, it could have been much worse. Last month, the company also announced that bonuses for the top executives would also be provided, sparking huge media outcry.

Volkswagen Board Member for Human Resources, Dr. Karlheinz Blessing, said, "Volkswagen employees produced a very good team performance last year despite the difficult situation. Their strong commitment deserves to be acknowledged and is now being recognized in the form of this profit share, which is also a clear signal that the Board of Management and the Works Council will tackle the difficult challenges together."

Volkswagen set aside 16.2 billion euros in provisions to cover the recall of 11 million diesel cars and other costs. While some consider that money to be insufficient, it was still enough to make an overall loss of 1.58 billion, the first since 1993.

So if the company is losing money, why are the employees getting special bonuses? Well, the General Works Council Chairman, Bernd Osterloh, stated that they worked under high pressure, with special shifts and overtime. He even went as far as to call the new CEO Matthias Müller "a fair negotiating partner."

Things are looking less rosy in 2016, and it doesn't have much to do with the emissions scandal. Sales of Volkswagen passenger vehicles were down by 3.9 percent in April 2015. Europe was flat, but regions like North America and Asia dragged them down.

Meanwhile, Audi AG is doing well, as the premium brand posted a record increase of 7.5 percent. Their engines for growth were China with 9.4% and Germany with 12.4%.