VW wants video gamers

Geeks are being courted by Volkswagen to drive it out of post-dieselgate doldrums and into the future.

The German car maker confirmed it is looking to expand its strengths in artificial intelligence, data, and connectivity with a recruitment drive to add 1000 new employees that specifically targets IT professionals, particularly from the gaming industry .

Member of the Volkswagen Group Board of Management, Dr Karlheinz Blessing, said "people who want to shape the future of mobility are coming to Volkswagen."

"We are tackling the major challenges of the future with the best people: digitalisation, software development, E-mobility, autonomous driving and mobility services. For these fields, we are reinforcing our team with top-class experts." 

Despite cuts in R&D spending across the Volkswagen Group in the wake of the diesel emission scandal, the company aims to add 1000 new IT-related employees over the next three years, with half of the new recruits to work at the company's Wolfsburg headquarters.

The recruitment drive announcement comes just days after the company confirmed that it will change its official language from German to English, in an attempt to make the Volkswagen Group a more global company.

Already Volkswagen has recruited specialised staff in the fields of robotics, design thinking, and artificial intelligence to be put to work in Volkswagen's Virtual Engineering Lab, Data Lab, Smart Production Lab, or Group IT in Wolfsburg.

Volkswagen's IT labs in Berlin and Munich will also benefit from the addition of the new members of staff, working on mobility solutions, connectivity, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things - online solutions to create a network of items that people use every day.

"The tasks we face are more varied and interesting than ever before," said Dr. Martin Hofmann, Chief Information Officer of the Volkswagen Group.

"In the global mobility group Volkswagen, IT means: international cooperation, versatile working in fast, creative teams and the most advanced technology. In brief: nowhere is IT more exciting than at Volkswagen."

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