Volkswagen Reportedly Plans 100,000 Job Cuts in Major Restructuring

According to Manager Magazin, Volkswagen intends to eliminate 100,000 positions, approximately 15% of its global workforce, at German facilities over the coming years. The plan would mark the biggest restructuring in the automaker's 89-year history. Production would cease at plants in Hanover, Zwickau, Emden, and Audi's Neckarsulm site. The Zwickau plant, recently converted to manufacture six electric vehicle models for VW, Audi, and Cupra, has already experienced multiple production stoppages due to what the company described as weak EV demand. Earlier, Volkswagen had announced plans for 50,000 job cuts, citing tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and declining sales in China. In late 2024, Volkswagen's unions agreed to those layoffs under a deal that prohibited further job cuts or plant closures until at least 2030. Despite that agreement, Volkswagen has now escalated its plans. A company spokesperson told CNBC that 'the entire Group — including its brands and subsidiaries — must undergo profound changes,' but declined to comment on specifics from internal confidential documents. In response, Volkswagen's unions and representative organizations have vowed to resist. 'If such plans were to be pushed forward, we would prevent them with all our might,' the IG Metal union and General Works Council said in a joint statement.