VOLKSWAGEN APPROVES FURTHER 50,000 JOB CUTS IN GLOBAL RESTRUCTURING

Planned reductions could bring total workforce cuts to 100,000 by 2030 as the automaker responds to competition and changing demand

Volkswagen’s supervisory board has unanimously approved plans to eliminate a further 50,000 jobs worldwide as part of a major restructuring programme through 2030.

The additional reductions come on top of an existing agreement to cut about 50,000 positions by the end of the decade. Together, the two rounds would bring the company’s planned workforce reductions to approximately 100,000.

Volkswagen employs around 663,000 people globally.

CEO calls transformation a turning point

Chief Executive Oliver Blume described Thursday’s vote in Wolfsburg as a major step towards the company’s future.

“We are taking responsibility for our entire workforce, for our partners and for industrial jobs worldwide,” Blume said.

“Over the coming years, we will invest a three-figure billion sum to make our iconic brands even more attractive, stronger and more competitive,” he added.

Blume called Future Plan 2030 “the most strategically profound transformation program in the Volkswagen Group’s history.”

The company said intensifying global competition, changing consumer demand and technological advances had made it necessary to align its workforce with “economic reality.”

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

Smaller model range and lower production targets

Volkswagen said it is targeting annual sales of 9 million vehicles, around 1 million fewer than recent volume plans and 3 million below levels recorded before the coronavirus pandemic.

By 2035, the group plans to reduce its model portfolio by about 50% and cut product complexity by roughly 75%.

The remaining vehicles are expected to stand out through design and technology while benefiting from higher production volumes and lower costs per vehicle.

European plants face uncertainty

The board said Volkswagen’s European production capacity currently exceeds demand by more than 500,000 vehicles.

The company said competitive production allocations cannot currently be secured for plants in Emden, Zwickau and Hanover, as well as Audi’s site in Neckarsulm, with changes expected to be staggered between 2031 and 2034.

Volkswagen said it is examining alternative uses for the four facilities.

A plan for a sustainable and competitive production structure across its European plants is expected to be developed by the end of June 2027.

The restructuring is intended to make Volkswagen more competitive while reshaping its workforce, product range and manufacturing operations for the coming decade.