Volkswagen will halt assembly of the electric ID.3 at Dresden’s Transparent Factory at the end of the month, a site known for its glass-walled architecture and demonstration-style production. Once the line is wound down, the facility will, for the first time since opening, be left without any car production. Even so, the company says it will keep more jobs than initially planned: 155 positions instead of 135. Around 250 people currently work at the site.

To encourage some employees to move to the group’s main plant in Wolfsburg, roughly 300 kilometers from Dresden, VW is offering a one-time €30,000 relocation bonus. According to reports from an employee meeting, the announcement was met with disapproval, including whistles and shouts.

The future of the Transparent Factory is tied to research. The plant will be turned into an innovation campus developed together with the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden). The stated focus areas include AI, microelectronics and chip design, materials science, robotics, and circular-economy technologies. The university is expected to lease about half of the space, while Volkswagen will support the project through research contracts. Long positioned more as a showcase than a volume plant, the site is shifting toward a testbed role with academic partners—a move that fits its profile.

For employees in Dresden, job security is promised through 2030. In addition, starting in early 2026 the staff is to be included in VW’s collective bargaining system, which usually means higher pay and improved conditions. That should help ease the transition for the workforce as production winds down.