Volkswagen Group is considering freezing the salaries of around 600,000 workers until 2030. In Spain, UGT and CCOO oppose the adjustment reaching SEAT, whose collective agreement provides for a salary review in January 2027.
According to iberoeconomia.es, Volkswagen Group is considering freezing the salaries of around 600,000 workers until 2030, based on information from internal company documents. The proposal would keep salaries at the levels of 2026 for the rest of the decade.
The plan is part of a cost-cutting strategy in a sector facing electrification, international competition, and difficulties in some markets. Volkswagen has described the information about its salary plans as speculation, and the conditions for all its brands and plants are not specified.
In Spain, attention is focused on SEAT, whose current collective agreement ends on 31 December 2026. So far, there is no confirmation that the freeze will apply to its workforce under the proposed terms.
The unions UGT and CCOO reject the adjustment being passed on to SEAT workers. Both argue that the agreement provides for a salary update for January 2027. An international savings proposal does not alone change the conditions of a Spanish agreement.
Article 39 of the XX Collective Agreement of SEAT, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), regulates salary increases. For the years 2023 to 2026, it set an initial annual increase of 0.25% and a review linked to the state CPI: if inflation exceeds that percentage, the review is applied with effect from 1 January of the following year. The text also includes a non-consolidable one-off payment to compensate for monthly differences from the previous year.
In their joint statement on 21 October, the unions demanded guarantees for employment, better labour rights, and the viability of workplaces. They also called for maintaining industrial investments and advancing the electrification of Martorell, including a potential second electric platform.
The negotiation of the new agreement will determine the increases for the years following 2026. If prices rise while salaries remain the same, purchasing power decreases, although the specific effect will depend on accumulated inflation.
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