Gunnar Kilian is a Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources at Volkswagen AG. He said, “In our thinking processes, we must unite sustainability technological advances, economic success, and protecting jobs. Only then can Germany’s industrial region achieve the structural changes it needs. Volkswagen can be the blueprint for the entire automotive industry. We consider it our first duty as one of the most important employers in the world to guide our journey into the fully-electric age with our employees. And we know that this will be our competitive advantage for the future. Wolfsburg’s main plant plays an important role in this transition.”
Thomas Schafer, COO, and as of July 1, 2022 CEO of Volkswagen Brand: “Volkswagen proved that we can achieve transformation! We have a clear strategy and will be taking the whole Volkswagen team along on this journey. Trinity will be our new electric flagship, which will completely redefine our production processes and work methods.”
The G7 labor and social ministers visited the main plant, which was home to subassembly of the all-electric ID.3 in 2023. The delegation was also shown how Volkswagen adapts to changing demands in vocational training by relying more heavily on IT and electronics skills. The company has invested many million euros in the recent years in six additional electronics and IT labs at Wolfsburg. The agenda also included discussions on new learning methods like agile self-study or collaborative working methods in vocational education.
Wolfsburg Main Plant Transformation
After electrification at the Emden and Zwickau plants, the largest vehicle plant in the Group will be converted to electric car production. The conversion will begin in 2026 at the Trinity plant. This unit will allow for faster production and net carbon-neutral production. This investment is approximately two billion euros. The new Trinity factory in Wolfsburg, Warmenau is a key component of the largest modernization programme in the history Volkswagen’s main site. Subassembly and production of the ID.3 will start in 2023, while full production will begin in 2024. In 2024, another milestone will be reached in the company’s transformation with the completion the Sandkamp Campus, the cutting-edge Volkswagen brand development center for new cars and future technologies like the SSP Platform.
These transformation plans were developed by the Works Council in collaboration with the company. One of their central components is the qualification of employees for the new world. Volkswagen will create many jobs in Wolfsburg, the region and in the future. The company offers its workforce long-term opportunities and shows that economic transformation can be achieved in the industrial area of Germany by transforming the main plant and building the Trinity production facility.