Final Word from Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Škoda Auto is celebrating 15 years of membership in the VW Group, is proudly launching a new car and is adding extra workers to build it. At the same time, though, it's making comments that suggest that major changes are in store. CEO Detlef Wittig told Týden that Škoda needs to be careful not to turn out like Western European carmakers, which he said requires carefully watching expenses and productivity. Personnel Director Martin Jahn told HN that Škoda needs to look hard at what it can do more efficiently and what it can hire external companies to do. A brutal battle is being waged for markets, he added. It sounds suspiciously as though Škoda might be paving the way for layoffs of ever-more-expensive workers at home in favor of more offshoring. It would be ironic if Jahn, the champion of inward investment into the CR, replaced Wittig as the CEO of Škoda in a year or two only to be the one who moved Czech jobs to the East. [Czech Republic automobiles Volkswagen ]