Report 2025

People and Culture
The organisational structure of the People and Culture Division underwent a major transformation in 2025. Some teams were reorganised into functional units aligned with the division’s ambition to serve as a comprehensive partner to all Company departments on key strategic topics. The new structure enables the People and Culture Division to respond more swiftly to market challenges and emerging technological trends. The first wave of this phased transformation unlocked more effective employee support and development, alongside the centralisation of digitalisation, automation, and AI activities.
The digitalisation of HR processes is becoming increasingly important and is now essential to the efficiency of services provided. In 2025, the systematic consolidation of digital solutions, the simplification of processes, and the expansion of automation aimed at enhancing the efficiency and quality of the Company’s HR services delivered record savings of €3.5 million. These measures also accelerated the rollout of selected HR solutions and improved the coordination of digital activities within the division, thereby increasing the Company’s readiness for the next wave of transformation. Artificial intelligence was also introduced into HR processes, accompanied by the training and preparation of employees for its day-to-day use in practice.
Putting
people first
The dedicated programme within the People and Culture Division directly supports the Next Level Škoda Strategy through six long-term initiatives: securing the organisation’s future through process and structure set-up; supporting successful employee transformation; delivering first-class service; advancing Digital People and Culture; setting a benchmark in social sustainability; and harnessing the strength of the Group. Each initiative pursues specific objectives, realised through the annual Top 10 Priorities programme comprising targeted activities and milestones. In 2025, the main themes were process transformation, employee transformation, and strengthening the Company’s culture.

Diversity
Proportion of Women in managment

MenWomen

Qualification structure of the Company’s permanent employees as of 31 December 2025

Primary school 8.4%Vocational school 39.7%High school with A levels 31.8%University graduates 20.1%
Company Workforce
770

Apprentices

In 2025
33.231

Permanent

Employees in 2025
34.006

Total 2025*

2024: 34,215 (0.6%)

* Škoda Auto headcount as at 31 December 2025 in the Czech Republic, including apprentices, excluding temporary agency staff (3,353 non-employees) and excluding subsidiaries.

2025– 8922024– 9052025– 6.0182024– 6.1082025– 26.3212024– 26.454
Putting people
first
The dedicated programme within the People and Culture Division directly supports the Next Level Škoda Strategy through six long-term initiatives: securing the organisation’s future through process and structure set-up; supporting successful employee transformation; delivering first-class service; advancing Digital People and Culture; setting a benchmark in social sustainability; and harnessing the strength of the Group. Each initiative pursues specific objectives, realised through the annual Top 10 Priorities programme comprising targeted activities and milestones. In 2025, the main themes were process transformation, employee transformation, and strengthening the Company’s culture.
Corporate culture
Cultivating a strong corporate culture is vital to Škoda Auto’s competitiveness, as it directly shapes employee performance and, by extension, overall business results. In 2025, the cultural model originally introduced in 2022 was simplified and continues to be built around three core brand values: Human; Simplifying; and Surprising.
Cultural Mindset Index
In 2025, the Company conducted its fourth CMX (Cultural Mindset Index), an employee survey assessing the selected cultural values and behaviours tracking the current state of corporate culture and its progression over time. Following the insights from the results, targeted measures were implemented to address the identified topics.
Diversity
Further details are available in the Diversity Report 2025.
Škoda Trainees
Skill
management
Employee learning and development play a vital role in sustaining Škoda Auto’s stability, performance, and competitiveness. In 2025, the Company reshaped its learning framework to emphasise flexibility, personal ownership of development, and modern digital tools that support self-paced learning.
A key focus of learning in 2025 non-manufacturing roles was to set a common minimum proficiency level in four core skills identified under the Next Level Škoda Strategy: Microsoft 365; AI; agility; and data. The Škoda Academy, which leads learning and skills development across the Company through its Skill Management initiative, supported this by delivering a broad programme of activities, from presentations and briefings to practical workshops.
Employee remuneration
Across the Volkswagen Group, an equal-pay framework ensures fair compensation for individuals in comparable job positions. In the Czech Republic, wages for all permanent Škoda Auto employees are set by a collective agreement with the KOVO trade-union organisation.
The remuneration system consists of a fixed base salary, variable and performance-related parts of the remuneration, and various allowances agreed upon in the collective agreement. The Company also expects and assures that wages and benefits for a standard working week never fall below the relevant national or sectoral minimum wage.
Supporting flexible forms of work
As part of the Next Level Škoda Strategy, the New Work initiative is jointly developed by the Company and the KOVO trade-union organisation to help employees balance their professional and personal lives. New Work places a premium on flexible working arrangements built on three pillars: job sharing; desk sharing; and alternative working hours.
Ensuring equal access to flexible work is essential for the Company, both in promoting gender equality and in supporting broader diversity and inclusion. Škoda Auto is therefore expanding opportunities for reduced working hours, including in areas where such arrangements have previously been uncommon, and is encouraging men to take advantage of them as well. The Company promotes flexible working through a variety of channels, from articles and interviews to webinars and workshops.
New Work
Škoda Auto as an award‑winning employer
In 2025, Škoda Auto was once again recognised as one of the Czech Republic’s most attractive employers across multiple surveys and studies. In the Randstad Awards 2025, which reflect public perception, the Company successfully defended its 2024 win and was named the most attractive employer in the Czech automotive sector. It also rose two places in the overall Top Employers in the Czech Republic ranking, moving from fifth to third.
ZEBRA Improvement Programme
For more than 30 years, the ZEBRA Improvement Programme and Prize Draw has been one of the Company’s most valued motivational initiatives. Its current strategy is centred on quality, efficiency, and a customer-focused mindset. Employees who took part in the programme had a direct opportunity to influence processes and activities throughout the Company.
Employees whose improvement proposals were completed in 2024 were entered into a prize draw held in June 2025. From almost three thousand nominations, ten winners were selected and, in partnership with the Odbory KOVO trade-union organisation, each received a brand-new Škoda Elroq. The winners came from all three Czech plants, demonstrating that improvement efforts were thriving across the whole Company.
Idea Management