Audi, one of Hungary's largest exporters, employs some 13,000 staff in the western city of Gyor where it has made engines since 1994. Car-making accounts for almost a third of Hungary's total industrial output, and around 20 percent of exports.
The plant's largest union - the 9,000-member AHFSZ - said the strike would last from Thursday to January 31 and affect all parts of the facility.
AHFSZ leaders told local media that talks with management would continue during the strike, but that it could be extended if no agreement is reached. Some 4,000 of the workforce at the Audi plant downed tools for a two-hour "warning strike" last week. Talks over 2019 wage levels began last September, with workers seeking an 18 percent wage increase.