Volkswagen Weighs Up to 100,000 Job Cuts and Plant Closures in Deepest Overhaul of Its History

Volkswagen is preparing what would be the largest restructuring in its 89-year history, according to multiple reports. Chief Executive Oliver Blume aims to cut up to 100,000 jobs and end production at four plants, twice the number of cuts previously expected, and to reduce planned investment by about 15 percent to just over 130 billion euros over five years. The targeted sites are said to include factories in Hanover, Zwickau and Emden, along with an Audi plant in Neckarsulm.

The reported scale of the cuts amounts to roughly 15 percent of the group's global workforce of about 667,000, close to 43 percent of which is in Germany. The Financial Times reported the restructuring follows the sale of Volkswagen's marine engines unit to the US private equity firm Bain and a broader plan to split off the core brand. Israeli business coverage framed the move as a response to competition from China, the transition to electric vehicles and pressure on margins.

Volkswagen's works council and the IG Metall union said they would resist the plan, warning that they would oppose it by every available means. The proposals would go beyond an existing program to cut 50,000 jobs and would test a 2024 agreement that ruled out German plant closures this decade.