Volkswagen’s board of directors on Thursday approved a sweeping cost-cutting plan that would cut 50,000 jobs, slim the company's model line by half and end auto production at four German plants.
Including 50,000 job losses previously agreed, the company would lose 100,000 positions.
The plan put forward by CEO Oliver Blume to counter low-cost competition in China and headwinds from U.S. tariffs overcame resistance from employee representatives and the regional government, which holds a stake in the company.
The plan foresees reducing the number of models by around 50 percent. Plants in Emden, Zwickau, Hannover and Neckarsulm will be phased out of auto production in 2031-34, although alternative uses will be explored. The board statement said there would be an “adjustment of the employee numbers of around 50,000 positions,” including management jobs.
Thursday’s news release was accompanied by a statement from chief employee representative Daniela Cavallo that the plan was “a necessity for our company to move successfully into the next decade without the associated undertakings coming only on the side of the employees.” Cavallo had been strongly critical of the plan when it was presented over the summer.
Volkswagen, which has around 650,000 employees, reported a 30% drop in after-tax earnings for the first half of the year as sales took a hit in China.
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