VW employs some 650,000 workers globally, with the labor force preparing for cutbacks across the traditional carmaking business.
The streamlined operations will have a workforce of as many as 10,000 developers, Christian Senger, head of digital car and services for the VW brand, said in a presentation at the Frankfurt auto show.
With the creation of the Car.Software unit, Volkswagen’s in-house tech development will rise to at least 60 percent by 2025 from less than 10 percent now, the carmaker said earlier this year.
Net headcount is down 6,900 people as of July this year while VW added about 3,400 new jobs in areas such as software development of car connectivity, according to an investor presentation. VW has achieved 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in related cost savings to far, freeing up funds it can plow into future technologies.
“There is a huge transformation going on,” Senger said during a discussion in Frankfurt with Microsoft’s executive vice president for cloud computing, Scott Guthrie. VW’s convoluted IT supplier structure with short-term contracts and a low re-usage of code will be turned into long-term partnerships that may last as long as a decade.
The first vehicle based on vw.os is the electric ID3 hatchback VW unveiled in Frankfurt this week. Production starts in November and the vehicles will hit showrooms outside the U.S. next year. Another eV, the ID4, is slated for the U.S., Automotive News reported this week.
From 2025, all new models will use the system. Currently, as many as 70 control units with operating software from 200 different suppliers need to be integrated into VW brand vehicles, rendered even more complex by using different systems for similar functions, such as for infotainment and navigation.
