Volkswagen CEO aims to cut up to 100,000 jobs in the next few years

[BERLIN] Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume aims to cut up to 100,000 jobs from the current workforce worldwide over the next few years and discontinue production at four of the group’s German plants, Manager Magazin reported on Friday (Jun 26).

The magazine also said Blume intends to reduce investment by around 15 per cent to just over US$148 billion over the next five years.

A Volkswagen spokesperson said the company would not comment on confidential documents. “The relevant facts of the matter will be discussed and approved by the relevant bodies. We will not pre-empt this process,” he said in an emailed statement.

“The entire group, including its brands and subsidiaries, must undergo far-reaching change,” the spokesperson said.

Manager Magazin said Blume and the group’s CFO, Arno Antlitz, aim to completely restructure the company, citing sources.

Volkswagen’s namesake core VW brand and the parts-manufacturing plants would be spun off from the current group structure and incorporated into separate entities, the report said.

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Over the medium term, VW is planning to close its production facilities in Hanover, Zwickau and Emden as well as a plant of sister brand Audi in Neckarsulm, all located in Germany, the magazine said, with production to be discontinued once the models currently manufactured there are phased out.

Blume previously has vowed to ramp up cost-cutting on top of 50,000 job cuts under way, with under-used plants in Germany under the spotlight despite a 2024 deal with unions guaranteeing no plant closures this decade.

Volkswagen, like its German and European peers, is under pressure from tariffs, Chinese competition and the costly shift to electric vehicles. REUTERS