Volkswagen supervisory board approves 50,000 further job cuts worldwide by decade’s end

Volkswagen’s supervisory board has approved another 50,000 job cuts worldwide by the end of the decade, doubling the scale of a restructuring plan announced in 2024. The decision deepens the crisis facing Europe’s largest carmaker.

The board approved the plan unanimously after a meeting of its executive committee. A full meeting of the supervisory body was scheduled for Friday. Volkswagen had already announced plans to eliminate 50,000 jobs in Germany between 2024 and 2026, mainly at its core Volkswagen brand, with the cuts extending to 2030. Together, the two plans would eliminate about 100,000 positions, roughly 15% of the group’s workforce.

Volkswagen blamed “growing global competitive pressure, changing demand structures and technological change in the automotive industry.” The company said personnel capacity must be adjusted to economic reality. The supervisory board also acknowledged production overcapacity of 500,000 vehicles in Europe.

“

Growing global competitive pressure, changing demand structures and technological change in the automotive industry make a substantial adjustment of personnel capacity to economic reality essential.

Four German plants, in Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm, face uncertainty because Volkswagen cannot currently guarantee competitive production loads for the years 2031 to 2034. The company said it was examining alternative uses for the sites.

The German automotive industry is struggling with weak demand, a slower-than-expected shift to electric vehicles and growing competition from Chinese brands. Christiane Benner, deputy chair of Volkswagen’s supervisory board and head of the IG Metall union, said the management board now had the necessary basis to address the company’s major challenges, including developing future scenarios for all its sites.

“

It is important that Volkswagen’s management board now has the necessary basis to address the major tasks ahead. This explicitly includes developing future scenarios for all sites.