Volkswagen CEO reveals up to 100,000 job cuts and four plant closures as costs run 20% above rivals

The leaked interview

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume has for the first time put a number on the extra job cuts the group is considering: a further 50,000 positions worldwide, on top of the 50,000 already agreed through 2030. The total potential reduction of 100,000 workers was revealed in an internal intranet interview on 13 July 2026, which was obtained by the German weekly Der Spiegel. Blume told staff the company must cut administrative, infrastructure and support costs to a competitive level.

A theoretical derivation without change in labour costs would result in an adjustment of 50,000 jobs worldwide.

Cost disadvantage and job math

Volkswagen’s overheads are still around 20 percent higher than those of comparable competitors, Blume explained. Since roughly half of those costs are personnel-related, the arithmetic points to tens of thousands of positions. The CEO stressed that the final tally could be lower if labour costs per employee are reduced by other means, and that the group is now assessing “how many adjustments are actually necessary and feasible” across all brands, subsidiaries and regions.

Four plants hang in the balance

Blume also addressed the fate of four German plants that have been under review for months, acknowledging that the group cannot yet confirm a competitive utilisation for the factories in Emden, Hannover, Zwickau (all Volkswagen) and Neckarsulm (Audi). European plants have excess capacity of about 500,000 vehicles, and production at these locations could wind down between 2031 and 2034, Der Spiegel reported.

The truth is also that, as of today, we still cannot confirm a competitive utilisation for the plants in Emden, Hannover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm.

A decade of profit decline and market pressure

Volkswagen’s operating profit has fallen sharply: from 22.6 billion euros in 2023 to 19.1 billion in 2024 and just 8.9 billion last year. Sales in China, once its most lucrative market, dropped 26 percent in the first half of 2026, while US deliveries fell more than 7 percent amid new import tariffs. Meanwhile Chinese rivals are advancing with lower production costs and new technology, squeezing margins further. By the end of 2025 the group employed about 663,000 people worldwide, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier. Nearly half the workforce, 284,000 employees, is in Germany.

Protests, the union and the politics of cuts

The 50,000 positions already agreed – 35,000 at the VW brand and 15,000 at Audi, Porsche and others – were reached with IG Metall after mass strike threats in late 2024. Last week, as the supervisory board prepared to meet, workers protested at plants across Germany, with hundreds marching on the Wolfsburg headquarters carrying horns and sirens. IG Metall has called the company’s plans “brutal” and has vowed to resist deeper cuts.

Broader restructuring: fewer models, lower capacity

Beyond job numbers, Volkswagen is planning to gradually slim its model range by 50 percent and to concentrate on the most attractive market segments. Equipment option packages across all group brands will be cut by 75 percent. The annual production capacity is being scaled back from 12 million to 9 million vehicles. Additionally, according to separate reports, the group is evaluating a possible sale of Ducati and an IPO of Lamborghini as part of the restructuring.