WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen on Wednesday said it will shrink its workforce by up to 7,000 staff, raise productivity and eke out 5.9 billion euros (£5.1 billion) worth of annual savings at its core VW brand by 2023 in a bid to raise VW's operating margin to 6 percent.
Volkswagen has ruled out compulsory layoffs until 2025, but early retirement will help the Wolfsburg, Germany-based carmaker to reduce its workforce between 5,000 and 7,000 positions, the carmaker said.
"The measures from the earnings improvement programme will enable our brand to achieve a competitive return level of six percent in 2022," Arno Antlitz, Volkswagen brand's board member for controlling, said in a statement.
(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Riham Alkousaa)
