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Volkswagen approves Future Plan 2030, with 50,000 job cuts and Seat's future still uncertain

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Approved/passed
  • Volkswagen's supervisory board unanimously approved a restructuring plan that envisages eliminating about 50,000 jobs worldwide in the coming years.
  • The plan does not specify whether it will affect Seat, while four German plants face uncertainty over future production assignments between 2031 and 2034.
  • Volkswagen said European plants have 500,000 vehicles of excess production capacity and must develop a sustainable production structure by June 2027.

Volkswagen has approved a sweeping restructuring plan that would eliminate about 50,000 jobs worldwide, while leaving the future of its Spanish brand Seat unresolved.

In view of increasing global competitive pressure, changes in demand structures and the technological transformation of the automotive industry, it is essential to consistently adapt workforce capacities to economic reality.

· VolkswagenThe company explained the rationale for the Future Plan 2030.

The group's supervisory board unanimously approved the management board's Future Plan 2030 on Thursday. Volkswagen said the plan responds to growing global competitive pressure, changing demand and the automobile industry's technological transformation. The workforce reduction will include management positions.

The plan covers the group and brands including Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Seat/Cupra. It does not say whether Seat will be affected. Seat sources told EFE that no decision has yet been made, after WirtschaftsWoche reported that Volkswagen wanted to withdraw the Spanish brand from the market by the end of 2029 at the latest.

The analysis on which the Future Plan 2030 is based envisages a reduction of approximately 50,000 jobs throughout the group, including management positions.

· VolkswagenThe company stated the scale of the planned workforce reduction.

Four Volkswagen plants in Germany, in Emden, Zwickau, Hannover and Neckarsulm, also face uncertainty. The company said it could not currently guarantee a competitive future production assignment for them, to be determined in stages between 2031 and 2034. It will examine alternative uses in parallel.

A competitive future assignment cannot currently be guaranteed for the four plants.

· VolkswagenThe company described the uncertainty facing four German facilities.

Volkswagen said its European plants have excess capacity of 500,000 vehicles. The group must develop a sustainable and competitive production structure for its European sites by the end of June 2027. Chief Executive Oliver Blume said the company would work with its brands, companies and employee representatives on the necessary measures, while supervisory board chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch said the plan would drive the company's transformation with full force.

The Future Plan that has just been approved demonstrates decisively that the company's transformation is being driven with all its strength.

· Hans Dieter PötschVolkswagen's supervisory board chairman characterized the approved plan.
About this summary

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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