Volkswagen to cut 50,000 more jobs by 2030

The Volkswagen group will cut a further 50,000 jobs by 2030. This is set out in a restructuring plan approved on Thursday, agreed between management and unions. With this new round, the total number of job cuts rises to 100,000, about 15% of the group's global workforce.

The plants most affected will be Emden, Zwickau and Hanover, which belong to the Volkswagen brand, and Neckarsulm, which produces for Audi. The plan does not currently call for the closure of these sites, but the possibility has not been ruled out.

The plan for 2030

Besides the workforce reduction, the "Plan for the Future 2030" aims to halve the model range by 2035. According to the business magazine Wirtschaftswoche, Volkswagen is also considering withdrawing the Spanish brand Seat from the market, with its closure expected by 2029 at the latest.

Hans Dieter Pötsch, chairman of the supervisory board, said the implementation of the plan "will guarantee the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of the Volkswagen Group".

The agreement with the unions reflects the weight of co-determination in the German car industry, where decisions on staffing levels typically go through formal negotiations with workers' representatives rather than a unilateral decision by management alone. It remains to be seen whether the workforce cuts alone will be enough to secure the group's financial sustainability over time, since the possibility of plant closures has not been taken off the table and could resurface if the expected savings fail to materialize.

The Volkswagen group controls, besides the historic VW brand, Audi, Škoda, Seat, Cupra, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati. Such a broad brand portfolio raises the question of how many brands the group can still afford to maintain amid a cost-cutting restructuring, as suggested by the prospect of retiring Seat by 2029.