Volkswagen Slovakia to suspend vehicle production for three weeks

During the shutdown, dozens of activities will be carried out across the halls and the grounds of the Bratislava plant that cannot be done while production is running at full speed. 
These are mainly the installation of equipment and conversions of production lines, maintenance of production and robotic equipment as well as of automation technology in all areas of production, infrastructure upkeep, cleaning of the sewer and ventilation systems, remediation work and various other modifications.

The first phase of building a photovoltaic power plant directly on the plant grounds will also take place; it will help cut the cost of electricity. In the first two stages, almost 17,000 photovoltaic panels will be installed over the coming years on the roofs of the logistics centres and the Porsche assembly hall.

Even during the plant-wide shutdown, staff of some departments remain on duty because of essential work, for example plant security, planning, energy supply and the finance department. Vehicle production will restart on Monday, 10 August 2026.

Employees of the Martin plant, which makes components for gearboxes and chassis, take their plant-wide holiday gradually within the reserved summer window.

For 35 years Volkswagen Slovakia has been a reliable and stable employer which, for decades now, has paid its employees a holiday bonus (a 13th salary) at the beginning of summer. Employees can also use 
contributions of up to 700 euros towards holidays abroad, or the statutory contributions towards holidays in Slovakia. Employer contributions to children's summer camps and various discounts with travel agencies and other tourism providers are also very popular in the summer.