Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Audi
Audi employees earn big $8,000+ bonuses
Audi had a fantastic year of sales in 2007. Among a number of record-setting statistics, sales rose 7.9 percent to $33.6 billion euros ($51.5 billion). Fortunately for Audi employees, the automaker recognizes that its fantastic fiscal performance wouldn't have been possible without the hard work of each and every little guy. Audi has decided to take some of its profits, around 222 million euro, and distribute it among some 45,000 employees at its Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm operations via the company's extended employee profit sharing plan. The average Audi worker will get a 5,300 euro bonus, which equates to $8,138 USD. That's a 43% increase compared to the bonuses handed out last year, and enough to buy a bitchin' plasma TV with enough left over for a PS3 (or pay bills, whatever). Of course, the bonus varies per worker and consists of a undisclosed base amount, a seniority bonus and then the part that represents how well the company did that year. Regardless, Audi employees should be pretty pleased with themselves come pay day. [Source: Audi, The Detroit News]
PRESS RELEASE
2008 profit sharing: Audi distributes an average of €5,300 per employee
- €222 million profit sharing paid to employees in 2008
- Human Resources Chief Dr. Werner Widuckel: "Audi's success is securing employment and creating new jobs"
- General Works Council Chairman Peter Mosch: "Distribution is good news for employees"
The extended employee profit sharing plan ("eMEB") was contained in the agreement named "Audi's Future – Performance, Success, Sharing" between the General Works Council and the company's management in April 2005. The extended employee profit sharing plan is a voluntary, non-contractual and success-based element of employees' pay. At its Annual Press Conference, Audi announced the highest profit from operating activities in the company's history: €2,705 (2,015) million. Ten percent of the operating profit above a baseline of €1.2 billion, i.e. €150 million, will be distributed to employees in May of this year for this success-based element alone.
Peter Mosch, Chairman of the General Works Council at AUDI AG, said: "The 'Audi's Future' agreement is increasingly paying off with a view to securing the locations and enabling the workforce to financially share in the company's success. The average distribution of nearly €5,300 to those employees covered by the collective-bargaining agreement is good news for the people working in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm, who are being rewarded for their outstanding commitment."
This year marks the third time that distributions are being paid under the extended employee profit sharing plan, in addition to the former employee profit sharing plan ("MEB"). The employee profit sharing plan consists of a base amount, a seniority-based bonus, as well as a variable share of the company's success. An average of €1,700 per employee will be paid in July.
In doing so, Audi is rewarding the achievements of its people this year with a bonus (MEB and eMEB) averaging nearly €5,300 (3,700). This represents 43 percent more than the year before.
Audi invests €2 billion a year in new products, alone. Over the course of the next eight years, the carmaker will be expanding the number of vehicle models in its portfolio from 25 today to 40. This year, Audi will be covering its higher demand for university graduates, primarily engineers, by hiring 800 new people. "In doing so, our growth targets are not only securing employment, but are also creating new jobs," said Widuckel. Audi is again providing apprenticeships in 20 vocations for some 700 young people this year.
*)Previous year's numbers in parentheses.
AUDI AG sold a total of 964,151 cars in 2007 and thus achieved its twelfth consecutive record year. Audi produces vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Györ (Hungary), Changchun (China) and Brussels (Belgium). At the end of 2007, production of the Audi A6 started in Aurangabad, India. The company is active in more than 100 markets worldwide. AUDI AG's wholly owned subsidiaries include Lamborghini S.p.A. in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, and quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm. Audi employs more than 54,000 people worldwide, including 45,000 in Germany. The brand with the four rings invests more than € 2 billion each year in order to sustain the company's technological lead embodied in its "Vorsprung durch Technik" slogan. Audi plans to nearly double the number of models in its portfolio by 2015, from the 25 currently on offer to 40.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Menice 11:41AM (3/12/2008)
thats cool... must be a smiling day at Audi.
at least they arent closing factories, laying off folks due to massive losses from prior year and still giving bonuses to everyone like some manufacturers.
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mark lee 2:02PM (3/12/2008)
The worst part is, sometimes those large corporations still lay off people when they're making money and give bonuses to executives when they aren't.
I think any successful business should hire people carefully and don't let them leave easily. Once they're in, they're family, and should be treated like one.
"Carrying the same burden, sharing the same fortune."
Allan 11:46AM (3/12/2008)
Always happy to see companies giving back... when they're doing well enough to do it anyway. My company recently distributed a similar styled bonus... which in my case, goes into a new apartment.
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JayP 11:56AM (3/12/2008)
I hope one of the Audi employees has to spend some of their bonus getting their Audi's syncros and clutch repaired.
Because that's where my bonus went... and it wasn't near $8k. :(
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Quattrofan 12:33PM (3/12/2008)
Syncros and clutch? Sounds like you could use some stick shift driving lessons.
Andrew 1:09PM (3/12/2008)
Clutches are maintenance, synchros mean you need to learn how to shift.
Pete 1:42PM (3/12/2008)
Not always. I had my 3rd gear synchro go out on my ford contour at 60k miles. It was a known problem and ford did nothing to remedy it.
beanspants 11:58AM (3/12/2008)
bonuses are cool, but then they also sort of suck, because in the US they are taxed at a higher rate when you receive them. it leads to lots of games with your withholdings and 401Ks to get the best one-time bang for your buck.
So you basically see what your total bonus, and then convert it from KM to Miles to see what you actually get to spend.
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mercury26 12:04PM (3/12/2008)
Hmmm, Audi is giving bonuses and BMW is laying off workers. Random musing here.....
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zamafir 12:11PM (3/12/2008)
@mercury26 - not random at all, very apt. Both companies are making record profits, audi responds with a bonus, BMW responds by laying off workers to increase returns to share holders just a tad - two very different approaches to profitability (rewarding workers vs laying them off).
rgseidl 12:33PM (3/12/2008)
Audi doesn't need to lay off workers because unlike BMW, it has little exposure to the US market and the extremely weak US dollar.
Kaptain75329 12:34PM (3/12/2008)
As it should be - this decision can only help Audi's image as a company and should pay off dividends with additional commitment and loyalty from the rank and file, not to mention the attraction of additional talent. Job satisfaction and security are not small issues, and studies have shown companies pay a heavy price for ignoring these concepts. Good on Audi for doing the right thing.
zamafir's comment concerning the two very different approaches/reactions to corporate profit is stark and sobering. I can't help but wonder which approach is pragmatically "better" for the overall health of both organizations - is Audi going to suffer for this huge expense if the market takes a turn for the worse? And what of BMW? With incentive and morale down, what could happen to future products designed and built by people who have less reason to care about it than ever?
Both companies are taking some potentially heavy risks here - I'll be watching with interest to see how these moves pan out.
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Steve_S 12:46PM (3/12/2008)
Betting on Audi having a good 08 as well, new S5, A5, TT and upcoming A4.
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Saluki 12:59PM (3/12/2008)
These bonuses go into their profit sharing plan, not paid in cash so they aren't going to be taxed on them and they aren't going to be buying plasmas
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Vincenzo 1:26PM (3/12/2008)
So, the report says about plants in China and Hungary; but only workers in Germany get bonuses.
I predict that Audi will entirely shift its production to China and India, and the Germans will be laid off. They are too expensive and want bonuses.
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tanooki2003 1:47PM (3/12/2008)
Good for Audi. They actually deserve a raise, unlike Ford
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bert 2:04PM (3/12/2008)
...meanwhile, bonuses at Google this year even with the downturn, are still almost 100% of your base salary. Base being >$80k out of college, doing the math = something more than a new plasma tv
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Jason 3:38PM (3/12/2008)
1- Audi makes the best cars in the world.
2- JayP you need to learn how to drive.
3- Pete do not ever talk about a Ford in the same sentence as an Audi.
4-BMW is laying people off because they are now second best.
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tark 1:31AM (3/13/2008)
Nice to see a company that understands the value of the little people, not just management or stockholders
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