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Volkswagen cuts staff to reduce personnel and labor costs

(Credit: Volkswagen)

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Volkswagen is cutting staff to reduce personnel and labor costs. VW rolled out a new global performance program to improve vehicle releases and reduce costs. 

Management and employee representatives at Volkswagen recently discussed the company’s future and reached an agreement to improve performance. Both parties have agreed to reduce staff starting January 2024

Volkswagen plans to decrease administrative staff costs by 20%. The legacy OEM will extend its partial retirement scheme to employees born in 1967 and severely handicapped employees born in 1968. 

VW will offer selective termination agreements at all levels if necessary. The company states that it will not implement a general termination agreement program. Volkswagen has no intention of filling open positions with workers outside the Group. It plans to fill open positions through Volkswagen’s internal job market.

The German automaker will maintain its hiring freeze and access freeze to the Tarif Plus salary group until further notice.

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“With the agreement on the key measures, we are taking a decisive step to move Volkswagen back to a leadership position. This requires not only structural but also personnel reduction measures. As a leading employer, it goes without saying that our actions will be socially responsible. 

“In addition to the company’s hiring freeze and stabilization of higher pay grades in the Tarif Plus bracket, which will continue, we agreed with the employee representatives to extend our partial retirement option to all employees born in 1967, thereby reducing the workforce as much as possible along the demographic curve, especially in the administrative units of Volkswagen AG. We will also selectively offer termination agreements at all levels, if necessary. The agreement reached will give us flexibility from 2024 to safeguard profitability and long-term job security,” said Gunnar Kilian, VW Group’s Chief Human Resources Officer.

Volkswagen’s staff cuts are part of the “Accelerate Forward/Road to 6.5” program, designed to improve the company in all areas and [at] all levels. 

The program includes measures to improve new vehicle releases. Volkswagen aims to release new vehicles to the market faster, cutting the time from 50 to 36 months. The new program is also designed to make vehicle production more cost-efficient and help the company make a positive earnings contribution of up to €10 billion by 2026. 

Volkswagen expects to offset negative effects from inflation and higher raw material costs through its “Accelerate Forward/Road to 6.5 program. VW estimates positive earnings contributions of €4 billion as soon as 2024.

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via X @Writer_01001101.

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Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla Cybertruck slapped with world’s least intimidating ticket, and it’s pure cringe

One cannot help but cringe and feel second-hand embarrassment at the idea of a person just driving around with a stack of these babies.

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Credit: Ryan Torres/X

A Cybertruck parked at Stanford Shopping Center in California was recently hit with what might be the most try-hard piece of paper ever slipped under a wiper blade: a “fake citation” accusing the driver of supporting a “fascist car.” 

The note, shared on X by Tesla staff program manager Ryan Torres, quickly made the rounds on X, where it quickly gained attention as an example of how not to protest.

The world’s least intimidating ticket

According to the citation, the supposed “violation” was “driving a fascist car.” The remedial action? Take the bus, call an Uber, or ride a bike. The note also dubbed Elon Musk a “chainsaw-wielding Nazi billionaire.” Now, protests against Tesla and Elon Musk have become commonplace this year, but one cannot help but cringe and feel second-hand embarrassment at the idea of a person just driving around with a stack of fake anti-Tesla/Musk citations.

Torres pointed out the irony himself in his post on X. Tesla currently employs over 140,000 Americans, and SpaceX has put the U.S. firmly back at the top of space technology. As Torres put it, maybe the person behind the world’s least intimidating ticket should “read a book on innovation before vandalizing” other people’s property.

Peak performative clownery

Not to mention that the fake ticket’s logic collapses under its own weight. EVs like the Cybertruck are literally designed to reduce emissions, not “destroy the economy.” If anything, Tesla has bolstered the United States’ economy by fueling jobs in engineering, manufacturing, and clean energy. It’s not the first time a Tesla has been the target of vandalism or politically charged notes, but this one stands out for sheer cringe value. 

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Torres summed it up neatly: “Peak clownery.” On that point, at least, the citation earns full marks. In a way, though, perhaps cringe fake tickets are not as bad as the literal firebombs that were being thrown at Tesla stores and cars earlier this year because some critics were gleefully misinformed about Elon Musk.

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News

Why a Tesla Model Y led to a teen’s failed driving exam in Ontario

The issue was due to the driver using the Model Y’s regenerative braking system.

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A North Bay, Ontario man has raised concerns after his teenage daughter failed her G driver’s license road test while driving his Tesla Model Y. The issue, the Tesla owner noted, was due to his daughter using the Model Y’s regenerative braking system to bring the car to a stop.

Regenerative braking bias

Eric Simard, the Tesla owner, told CBC News that his daughter borrowed his car for her driving test. Because of this, she was not fully familiar with how to disable the Model Y’s regenerative braking system. Unfortunately, the examiner did not allow his daughter to call him for help in turning off the feature.

Simard noted that his daughter ultimately failed her driving test because she never used the car’s physical brake pedal. In his daughter’s road test results from Drive Test Ontario, the examiner marked a box stating that the Model Y was “out of order. 

“I find it pretty frustrating because even though it’s regenerative braking and you’re not using the brake pedal, you’re clearly the one that is in full control of making the vehicle come to a stop or to slow down,” Simard stated, adding that his daughter was also penalized for the Model Y’s feature that alerts drivers when a traffic light turns green. 

Discussions on driver-assist technologies

In a comment, Julia Caslin, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, stated that the province’s graduated licensing system “requires drivers to always demonstrate safe vehicle operation and full control, regardless of the vehicle’s features.” 

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“Applicants are expected to understand how their vehicle’s system — including lane centring, regenerative braking, adaptive cruise control and automated parking — may affect handling and performance during a road test,” Caslin stated. 

Driving instructors also expressed differing views about Simard’s experience. Saad Tariq of Greater Sudbury Driving School said he advises students against relying on driver-assist features because sensors can fail.

Meanwhile, Amanda Lacroix of Northern Lights Driving School suggested road tests should adapt to the technologies drivers use daily, while still requiring mastery of basic skills like mirror checks and manual braking.

“If the world’s going to change and we’re all going to have assisted driving, then we should be learning how to do it properly,” Lacroix said.

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Tesla says it is working on rides for the handicapped and disabled with Robotaxi

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that this was a focus by responding, “Absolutely,” to the embedded post on X above. Tesla said it is developing its own “wheelchair-accessible vehicle,” also known as a WAV. 

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Credit: Teslarati

Tesla says on its Robotaxi app that it is working on enabling “accessibility rides” that would give the handicapped and disabled the ability to hail a Robotaxi to get to an appointment.

While Robotaxi will obviously revolutionize the way we travel for our work commutes, daily activities, and other things, but there is true potential to enable serious change for those who cannot drive.

Autonomous transportation would make life easier for those who are unable to obtain a driver’s license. Of course, with today’s ride-sharing platforms, things are much easier than they once were.

However, rides from Uber and Lyft, while plentiful, always have an opportunity to be unavailable in some regions, especially rural ones, due to a lack of drivers.

Robotaxi aims to solve this problem through autonomous transportation, a technology that Tesla has been developing for years.

However, new language in the Robotaxi app shows that Tesla is working on a solution for people who need rides for medical reasons, and it uses a picture of the Robovan to hammer this point home:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that this was a focus by responding, “Absolutely,” to the embedded post on X above. Tesla said it is developing its own “wheelchair-accessible vehicle,” also known as a WAV.

This is likely the Robovan, which was unveiled on October 10 at the Robotaxi event last year:

Tesla unveils the Robovan at ‘We, Robot’ event

It is pretty interesting to see two Musk ventures working on solutions for those who are physically impaired or have other disabilities. With Tesla, Robotaxi will unlock immense potential for those who are unable to drive themselves, addressing a genuine need in today’s world.

Additionally, Neuralink is continuing its development of technology to fight against various physical and mental disabilities. A great question to ask is, “Which will be more beneficial for humans?”

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