Volkswagen CEO warns up to 50,000 more job cuts needed to match rivals' costs
CEO Oliver Blume says overhead costs are 20 percent above the industry average and, without wage changes, the theoretical reduction is 50,000 positions worldwide, on top of an existing 50,000-job cut plan.
Volkswagen may eliminate about 50,000 more jobs globally, CEO Oliver Blume told staff in an internal interview published Monday. It is the first time management has publicly quantified the additional cuts that German media had been reporting for weeks.
The truth is that as of today we cannot guarantee competitive utilisation of production capacity at the Emden, Hannover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm plants in the 2030s.
The numbers behind the warning
Blume said VW's costs for administration, infrastructure and support of the core business are about 20 percent above the average of comparable companies. Because half of those overhead costs come from personnel, the theoretical calculation without changes to labour costs yields roughly 50,000 jobs worldwide. That would come on top of the 50,000 cuts the group already announced in 2024, to be completed by 2030 through early retirement and voluntary measures. More than half of those existing cuts are due to be executed by the end of this year.
- Already announced cuts (by 2030)
- 50000 jobs
- Additional theoretical cuts
- 50000 jobs
Four German sites at risk
European plants could build around 500,000 more vehicles than current demand, Blume explained. He named Emden, Hannover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm as sites where competitive capacity utilisation cannot be guaranteed. However, he reiterated a preference for industrial conversion over outright closures, telling Bild am Sonntag that there are “smarter solutions than closing factories”.
Boardroom rejection and union pushback
The supervisory board, which includes 10 employee representatives and the state of Lower Saxony, rejected the management's proposed restructuring package last week. No detailed decisions have been made, and Blume stressed that talks are making good progress despite press reports. Unions previously warned that new strikes would follow if large-scale job cuts proceed; production was halted in several plants last week.
As soon as decisions are made, we will inform transparently and comprehensively.
A timeline of savings and escalation
- VW announces plan to cut 50,000 jobs by 2030 across the group
- Work begins on a new, deeper savings plan for all brands and regions
- Supervisory board rejects management's proposed restructuring package
- CEO Blume quantifies potential further cuts at 50,000 jobs in internal interview
The work on the new savings plan began in January. Since then, details have leaked only through media: at one point, reports spoke of up to 120,000 jobs at risk. The figure Blume has now given matches the earlier picture of a doubling of the 2024 target.
An industry-wide squeeze
Volkswagen is not alone. Thousands of Mercedes-Benz workers protested planned cutbacks, and BMW also announced thousands of job cuts last month. German carmakers are grappling with weaker demand and high energy costs, making the pressure on Europe's largest automaker part of a wider restructuring wave.
