Volkswagen plans to slash up to 100,000 jobs and halt production at four German plants in a sweeping cost-cutting drive that could rank among the largest corporate layoffs in history.
The cuts, which were first reported by the German business daily Manager Magazin, would eliminate close to one in six of the automaker’s roughly 625,000 roles worldwide as Europe’s largest carmaker battles Chinese rivals, US tariffs and worsening profits.
The plan would accelerate VW’s existing target to cut 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030 and reduce domestic manufacturing capacity by 500,000 vehicles.
The new proposal could add another 50,000 job cuts, a person familiar with the plan told the Financial Times.
Production would end at VW sites in Emden, Zwickau and Hanover, plus an Audi factory in Neckarsulm.
“Never has the risk situation been so high,” CEO Oliver Blume told shareholders last week.
VW declined to comment on the plan, telling the FT: “The underlying matters are discussed and approved by the relevant governing bodies. We will not pre-empt this process.”
The restructuring details are expected to be presented to the company’s supervisory board on July 9.
Workers’ representatives blasted the proposal.
“Should such plans be pursued, we would oppose them with all our might,” said works council chief Daniela Cavallo, IG Metall president Christiane Benner and Lower Saxony union boss Thorsten Groeger.
“What really matters is something else entirely: instead of engaging in blind, knee-jerk reactions, the management board should finally do its job,” they added.
VW entered 2026 under severe pressure. Although revenue was stable last year, operating profit plunged 53% year over year as China price competition, lower-margin EVs, restructuring costs and US tariffs hammered earnings.
The company’s operating profit fell to $10.2 billion in 2025 from $21.8 billion a year earlier, while net income dropped to $7.9 billion from $14.2 billion.
VW’s China deliveries fell 8% last year to 2.69 million vehicles, while battery-electric deliveries in China plunged 44.3%.
The company already closed a small production site in Dresden and has been seeking a buyer for its Osnabrück factory, where production is set to run out next year.
Blume has said outright factory closures are not his preferred route, favoring “intelligent” approaches such as using German plants to build VW’s Chinese models or handing sites to other carmakers or defense companies.
The planned cuts come after VW agreed to sell marine engines unit Everllence to Bain Capital in a $8.5 billion deal.
VW has targeted $6.9 billion in annual savings by 2030 and said costs remain “the area where we have the greatest need for action.”
The looming July 9 board presentation now sets up a bruising fight between management and labor over the future of one of Germany’s biggest industrial employers.
The Post has sought comment from Volkswagen.