Škoda's socially responsible non-layoffs

As the subsidiary of a listed company with close ties to Germany but with most of its production in the Czech Republic, Škoda Auto is constantly doing a balancing act. It has to keep its corporate overlords and shareholders in Germany happy while not revealing its hand too much to its Czech audience. While the current head of the Volkswagen brand, Thomas Schäfer, was still chairman of Škoda in Feb. 2021, he told FAZ of Germany that Škoda would be fully electric in 10 years. Yet he was telling Czechs at the same time that Škoda wanted e-vehicles to be more than 50% of its range of models in 2030. Likewise, current Chairman Klaus Zellmer boasted to Handelsblatt last week that Škoda has a cost-savings plan that calls for reducing its non-production staff from more than 12,000 now to fewer than 10,000 people by 2028. This of course won't happen overnight, he said, and it will be "socially responsible along the demographic curve, plus turnover." A few days later Zellmer told HN that Škoda has a five-year savings and efficiency program that includes natural attrition and turnover but that Škoda isn't planning any layoffs.