Volkswagen Heads Into Emden Wage Talks With a Court Bill, a Paused ID. Golf and a Thin Margin Forecast

Volkswagen will contest a Braunschweig labour court ruling that obliges it to hand a dismissed executive roughly EUR 300,000 in back pay, the company signalled, as it prepares to open wage negotiations with IG Metall in Emden on 24 November.

The judgment, issued on Friday, covers about a year of salary and turns on the gap between the summary dismissal Volkswagen imposed and the ordinary termination the court upheld. The case will now go to the state labour court for review, according to media reports.

The payout lands at an awkward moment. Nine-month figures published on 29 October put operating profit at EUR 0.1 billion for 2026, a collapse from EUR 5.41 billion a year earlier, with special items totalling EUR 8.7 billion. Management described the results as creating an "immediate need for action."

Revenue for the first nine months reached EUR 233 billion. For the full year Volkswagen expects around EUR 315 billion in sales and an operating return on sales of up to 1%. The Brand Group Core fared little better: its operating result fell to EUR 4.33 billion from EUR 4.72 billion, with the margin slipping to 4.1% from 4.4%, as reported on 30 October.

Analysts Recalibrate After the Numbers

Bernstein Research resumed coverage of the stock on Thursday with a Market-Perform rating and an EUR 80 price target. HSBC, which had cut its target to EUR 107 from EUR 115 on 4 November, kept its Buy recommendation in place.

Product decisions are adding to the pressure. On 30 October the Volkswagen passenger-car brand paused development work on the electric ID. Golf. Brand chief Thomas Schäfer told Reuters the company simply cannot afford the work at present, adding that development should resume as soon as possible.

Cost Cuts Top the Agenda

Cutting labour costs is the company's stated goal for the talks with IG Metall, and Volkswagen has pointed to additional socially acceptable personnel instruments as part of its approach. The negotiations cover the terminated contracts as well as the demands of both sides.

After Emden on 24 November, the two parties have agreed to reconvene in Zwickau on 15 December — a second round that will now carry the weight of the nine-month figures, the court ruling and a shelved model programme into the room.