Volkswagen's board will receive the full annual bonus despite tough times, thanks to a sudden six billion euros in cash flow. The works council demands clarification on this unexpected turn and criticizes the company's information policy. A top-level meeting is scheduled for this week.
At Volkswagen, employees face lean times this spring: the usual May bonus is being cut this year and next to help the company through difficult periods. The board, however, operates under different rules. According to a report in the "Bild" newspaper, the executive committee will receive the full annual bonus because six billion euros in cash suddenly appeared in the books – far exceeding expectations.
Just three weeks ago, VW CFO Arno Antlitz had projected a net cash flow of zero euros for the fiscal year. A recent mandatory disclosure from the company stated: "Both preliminary key figures are significantly above the values expected by Volkswagen AG for the 2025 fiscal year of around 0 billion euros for net cash flow." The maximum bonus level kicks in at 5.6 billion euros, entitling each board member to up to 1.72 million euros extra.
The works council is astonished and demanding answers. "We share the criticism of the company's information policy to date," a spokesperson said. Even other board and supervisory board members were surprised by the announcement, according to anonymous sources. The "bonus miracle" was achieved through measures such as shifting development costs from the previous year, reducing inventory levels to year-end, and dissolving reserves. This merely deferred expenses rather than eliminating them.
VW's press department has not commented since Friday. A clarifying discussion between the works council and company leadership is set for this week.
