Volkswagen is planning to cut up to 100,000 jobs and close four German factories, according to reports that lay bare the depth of the crisis facing Europe’s largest carmaker. The proposals, revealed by Germany’s Manager Magazin, would almost double the staff reductions previously announced and mark a historic retreat from the manufacturing model that underpinned decades of German industrial success.
The company has refused to comment on reports of a management presentation at a board meeting, but a spokesperson acknowledged the scale of the challenge. “It is correct that the entire automotive industry and the Volkswagen Group are undergoing a profound transformation,” they said. “The executive board has repeatedly stated that our current business model no longer works across all brands: developing cars in Germany, producing them in Europe and exporting them to the world. The world has fundamentally changed in recent years.”
“Volkswagen reportedly plans up to 100,000 job cuts and four factory closures amid Chinese competition and EV transition.”
The carmaker, which employs more than 650,000 people across brands including Audi, Bentley, Skoda, Seat and Cupra, has been hit hard by growing Chinese competition and the struggle to shift from combustion engines to electric cars. The spokesperson cited tariffs, competition and “stagnating, sometimes declining” markets that can create “burdens on the company reaching tens of billions of euros per year”.
According to Manager Magazin, the plans – which could still be watered down – involve the eventual closure of an Audi site in Neckarsulm as well as Volkswagen plants in Hanover, Zwickau and Emden. The cuts are significantly deeper than those announced in 2024. Volkswagen’s chief executive, Oliver Blume, is expected to present his deepening overhaul at a supervisory board meeting next month. He has already announced a strategy aimed at cutting €11bn (£9.49bn) from costs.
“To survive the competition, the company has to adapt, and that requires a sharper focus on costs and investment,” the spokesperson said. The company has declined to pre-empt the process, describing it as sensitive and involving staff and their unions. The prospect of tens of thousands of job losses and the shuttering of German plants represents a seismic shift for a company that has long been a symbol of the country’s economic might.