Volkswagen, one of the world’s largest automakers, is reportedly planning to axe as many as 100,000 jobs over the next few years, representing 15% of its global workforce.
The job cuts would come alongside the planned closure of four factories in Germany and a 15% reduction in investment over the next five years, according to a report Friday by Manager Magazin, a German business magazine.
The report added that Volkswagen – Germany’s biggest automaker and one of its major employers – is planning to spin off its main Volkswagen brand and auto parts business into separate entities. The company owns several other brands, including Audi and Porsche.
A Volkswagen spokesperson declined to comment to CNN on “internal, confidential documents,” adding that the underlying matters will be discussed and approved in respective committees.
The Pressure on VW
VW employs almost 660,000 people worldwide and has already announced plans to slash 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030. The company has one US assembly plant, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which has more than 4,000 workers.
Like many European carmakers, it has been squeezed by fresh tariffs on its exports to the United States as well as struggling to counter the rise of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, including BYD.
The Volkswagen spokesperson said the company required “sharper focus as well as stricter discipline over costs and investment” to meet its new reality, adding that its traditional business model – making cars in Europe and exporting them globally – “no longer works” for all of its brands.
Union Resistance
Any job cuts will likely meet resistance from German unions. “If such plans are pushed forward, we would prevent them with all our might,” labor union IG Metall and Volkswagen’s General Works Council said in a joint statement on Friday.
Shares of Volkswagen were down 1.5% early afternoon local time. Its stock has dropped by more than a quarter so far this year.
The Bottom Line
Volkswagen is reportedly planning to cut 100,000 jobs and close four factories in Germany as the automaker faces pressure from US tariffs and competition from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. The company employs nearly 660,000 people worldwide, including 4,000 at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant. German unions have vowed to resist the cuts, which would represent 15% of VW’s global workforce. The company’s stock has fallen more than 25% this year.
