HN 2: The British and their Works

Owing to the chronic lack of living space in Wolfsburg,
the majority of the workforce of Volkswagen was living
in hardly inviting camps.
about the proficiency of the managerial staff, including foremen
and supervisors, and warned that reshuffles or dismissals would
ensue if a similar incident occurred. 107
Under these conditions it was simply impossible to fulfil the
production programme issued at the beginning of June 1947,
which called for an increase to 2,500 vehicles per month by June
1948. Even maintaining the commanded production rate of
1,000 cars, plus the spare parts for the Military Governments
and the main distributors, meant that an additional 400
workers were needed. An increase to 1,350 cars per month required
a further 700 people, though this figure was reduced to
500 as a result of the transfer of manufacturing work to the
Vorwerk. To achieve the target of 2,500 cars, the company
needed this number of employees. 108 From April 1947 the labour
office was no longer able to cover these labour requirements
from the Wolfsburg area or by inter-area swaps. In collaboration
with the labour offices of Wolfsburg and Uelzen, the State
Labour Office in Hanover and the refugee camps, the company
had shifted to recruiting workers from the Soviet-occupied zone.
44 45
WORKFORCE TURNOVER