Volkswagen crisis deepens as company plans 100,000 job cuts worldwide

Volkswagen plans to eliminate 100,000 jobs worldwide by 2030 as the German automaker tries to recover from years of stagnant sales. Owners and employees agreed on the company's future plan Thursday evening.

The plan also calls for fewer vehicle models and a smaller stake in subsidiary companies. Volkswagen wants the reductions to make the group more profitable, after sales growth slowed sharply following the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

The company had expanded strongly from the 2010s onward, but its recovery after the pandemic has been slow. The article points to several pressures complicating Volkswagen's planning, including global crises, climate change and rising energy and raw-material prices.

Those costs are weighing on household purchasing power. Many Germans are postponing investment in a new car, while sales are also falling in the United States because Trump's tariff policies have made imports more difficult. The planned cuts reflect the scale of the challenge facing Volkswagen as it seeks to reduce costs and reshape its business.