Volkswagen’s supervisory board unanimously approved a plan Thursday to cut a further about 50,000 jobs worldwide as part of a major restructuring program through 2030.
The reduction is additional to programs already running. Since the end of 2024, Volkswagen had already agreed to reduce its workforce by about 50,000 by the end of the decade. Together, the two rounds would bring planned job cuts to about 100,000.
Chief Executive Oliver Blume called the vote in Wolfsburg “a strong signal for the future of the Volkswagen Group,” saying Future Plan 2030 is “the most strategically profound transformation program in the Volkswagen Group’s history.”
“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.
The company said intensifying global competition, shifting demand and technological change make it essential to align the workforce with “economic reality.”
According to the analysis behind the plan, a further group-wide adjustment of about 50,000 positions, including management jobs, will be necessary beyond existing programmes.
The company employs about 663,000 people worldwide.
Volkswagen said it is targeting annual sales of 9 million vehicles, about 1 million fewer than recent volume plans and 3 million fewer than before the coronavirus pandemic.
By 2035, the group plans to cut its model portfolio by about 50% and reduce product complexity by about 75%.
The company said the remaining models should stand out in design and technology while benefiting from higher volumes and lower costs per vehicle.
The board said Volkswagen Group’s European production capacity currently exceeds demand by more than 500,000 vehicles.
It said competitive future production allocations cannot currently be secured for plants in Emden, Zwickau and Hanover, as well as Audi’s site in Neckarsulm, on a staggered basis from 2031 to 2034.
Alternative uses for the four sites are being studied, according to the company.
Volkswagen said a concept for a sustainable and competitive production structure for its European plants is expected to be developed by the end of June 2027.