Oliver Blume, chief executive of German automaker Volkswagen, wants to significantly ramp up layoffs. In the coming years, he plans to eliminate up to 100,000 jobs worldwide, which represents around 15 percent of the current workforce. This was reported today by Manager Magazin’s website. It would be double the number of layoffs previously announced. According to the publication, Blume is also planning to reduce investments and completely restructure the group. Volkswagen declined to comment in detail on the matter, but confirmed to the DPA news agency that it is considering a comprehensive transformation.
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VW to Cut Investments by 15% and Close Four German Factories in Major Restructuring
Over the next five years, Blume wants to cut investments by approximately 15 percent, bringing them to just over 130 billion euros (3.2 trillion Czech crowns). Together with Chief Financial Officer Arne Antlitz, they are planning, according to sources cited by Manager Magazin, to extract the Volkswagen brand itself and component manufacturing plants from the group’s current structure and integrate them into separate entities.
In the medium term, Volkswagen plans to close four manufacturing plants in Germany. This would affect plants in Hanover, Zwickau, and Emden, as well as a plant belonging to sister brand Audi in Neckarsulm. Production at these facilities is to end as the models currently manufactured there are gradually phased out, according to the publication.
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VW Deepens Job Cuts Beyond 50,000, Igniting Fierce Backlash From German Unions
Volkswagen currently employs over 667,000 people worldwide, with around 300,000 in Germany. The company previously stated that by 2030 it plans to eliminate approximately 18 percent of jobs in Germany. Volkswagen is Europe’s largest automaker and owns Czech automaker Škoda Auto. The plan reported by Manager Magazin would thus exceed the current program to eliminate 50,000 jobs. Moreover, an agreement with unions from 2024 explicitly ruled out plant closures in Germany during this decade.
“The entire group, including its brands and subsidiaries, must undergo far-reaching change,” the company’s spokesperson told the DPA news agency. According to the publication, the supervisory board will discuss the plan on July 9. The company’s works council and the influential German trade union IG Metall warned that they would resist the described measures. “If such plans were to be implemented, we will do everything in our power to prevent them,” Reuters quoted from their joint statement released today.
Source: Reuters
