Volkswagen to cut 100,000 jobs by the end of the decade
German automaker Volkswagen plans to cut a total of 100,000 jobs by the end of the decade. This will be the largest job cut in the history of the global automotive industry, Deutsche Welle reports.
The company’s management and trade unions approved a plan providing for an additional 50,000 job cuts. Volkswagen had previously already agreed to cut another 50,000 positions. In total, this amounts to about 15% of the group’s global workforce.
The future of four plants
Volkswagen also said it cannot guarantee the long-term future of four major facilities in Germany — in Hanover, Emden, Zwickau and Neckarsulm. Their closure would mean the first full-scale shutdown of Volkswagen plants in the country.
A worker at the Zwickau plant stressed the facility’s importance for the region in a comment to AFP. According to him, the plant, the jobs linked to it and suppliers are the driving force of the entire region’s economy.
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Investments and structural changes
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said the decision to cut 100,000 jobs is a strong signal for the future of Volkswagen Group. The company did not specify the timing of the cuts or their distribution among the regions where it has plants and offices.
The restructuring plan provides for investments amounting to hundreds of billions over the coming years in research and development in order to increase technological competitiveness. Volkswagen also intends to speed up decision-making, reduce by about one-third the number of companies and holdings in its structure, focus on North America and expand exports to countries of the Global South.
Europe’s largest automaker is under pressure from U.S. tariffs, competition from China and slower growth in demand for electric vehicles.
