by Brad Anderson
- VW stops ID. 3 production while retaining 155 employees in Dresden.
- Transparent Factory will host a new innovation center with TU Dresden.
- Workers are offered €30k bonuses for relocation to Wolfsburg.
Later this month, Volkswagen will wind down production of the all-electric ID.3 at its Dresden site, known as the Transparent Factory, a facility famous for its floor-to-ceiling glass walls. The decision will leave the plant with no vehicles on its assembly line for the first time since it opened.
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Even so, VW says it plans to keep more jobs at the location than initially projected. The company is also offering a generous relocation incentive to employees willing to transfer to its main headquarters in Wolfsburg.
How Many Will Stay?
As part of its plan to cease production at the site, VW had originally expected to retain only 135 roles. But earlier this year, VW brand chief Thomas Schafer and group works council chairwoman Daniela Cavallo visited the factory to announce that 155 employees would be staying on. The plant currently employs about 250 people.
To encourage some workers to leave, VW has introduced a €30,000 (about $35,000 at current exchange rates) signing bonus for workers willing to move to Wolfsburg, located roughly 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Dresden, according to German outlet Handelsblatt.
While the figure might sound appealing on paper, one attendee at the recent staff meeting noted that the announcement of the bonus was met with boos from the crowd.
What’s Next for the Transparent Factory?
While the Transparent Factory soon won’t be building any VW models, it will become home to a new innovation campus. This facility is being established in partnership with the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden).
According to VW Saxony managing director Thomas Edig, this gives the facility “the chance to become the Stanford of the East.”
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The campus will focus on a range of high-tech fields including artificial intelligence, microelectronics, chip design, materials science, robotics, and circular economy technologies. TU Dresden will lease roughly half of the Transparent Factory, with VW supporting the collaboration through research contracts.
According to Handelsblatt, VW workers in Dresden have job security guaranteed until 2030. Starting in early 2026, they’ll also be included in VW’s collective bargaining agreement, which should bring higher wages and improved employment terms.
