Volkswagen Weighs 50,000 Additional Job Cuts to Combat 20% Cost Disadvantage

Volkswagen AG may need to eliminate an additional 50,000 jobs worldwide to keep pace with nimbler rivals, CEO Oliver Blume warned staff in an internal memo.

The disclosure marks the first time leadership has effectively confirmed that total headcount reductions could reach 100,000 positions.

The corporate overhaul underscores a deepening crisis at Europe’s largest automaker.

Blume is battling to streamline an industrial giant burdened by high domestic manufacturing costs, billions of euros in mounting tariff liabilities, and stiff competition in China.

Having already finalized 50,000 job cuts across the group including subsidiaries Porsche and Audi Blume noted that internal calculations show VW is saddled with a 20% cost disadvantage compared to its peers.

Addressing this gap implies a “theoretical deduction” of another 50,000 roles.

“We are currently assessing across all brands, companies, and regions how many adjustments are actually necessary and feasible,” Blume wrote in the memo, which was reviewed by reporters on Monday.

The revelation follows intense pressure from Volkswagen’s workforce for structural clarity.

Blume presented the restructuring blueprint to the company’s supervisory board on Thursday, but sources familiar with the matter say influential labor representatives blocked the proposals.

The rejected plan reportedly included the job cuts and the potential closure of four German manufacturing plants: Emden, Hanover, Zwickau, and Neckarsulm.

In the memo, Blume admitted management cannot yet guarantee “competitive use cases” for those facilities into the 2030s.

However, he signaled a preference for “intelligent solutions” over outright closures, floating options like repurposing the factories for defense manufacturing or contract-assembling Chinese models for the European market.

In its public statement following Thursday’s high-stakes talks, Volkswagen avoided mentioning layoffs or closures.

Instead, the automaker announced gradual measures to reduce global production capacity and halve its sprawling vehicle model lineup steps analysts warn may fall short of solving VW’s structural woes.

Blume acknowledged the roadmap remains fluid, telling workers: “There will certainly be more meetings in which we will work hard to find the best solutions.”

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