Volkswagen will cut around 25,000 jobs in Germany as part of a wider restructuring plan targeting 50,000 total redundancies across its global operations.
Group Chief Executive Oliver Blume announced the figures during an emergency staff assembly at company headquarters in Wolfsburg, northern Germany, where management failed to calm furious workers.
Addressing an audience of around 10,000 employees, Blume outlined the provisions governing the carmaker's second major restructuring program. The new plan follows an earlier cost-cutting package introduced in 2024 to address an ongoing crisis facing Europe's largest automotive group.
According to speech excerpts transmitted to Agence France-Presse, Blume stated that roughly half of the required workforce adjustments concern Germany. The remaining job cuts will affect overseas operations involving approximately 170 companies in total.
Restructuring plan and voluntary departures
Attendees reported that Blume's speech was repeatedly interrupted by whistles and other expressions of dissatisfaction from the audience. The emergency gathering marked the first of nine staff meetings scheduled across Volkswagen's primary German facilities over the coming days.
In a separate statement, the Volkswagen management board indicated that it will continue to rely as far as possible on voluntary departures. These measures will focus primarily on early retirement options, severance settlements, and a restrictive hiring policy.
Blume told staff that the company will define specific job reduction measures in direct consultation with worker representatives. He explained that the management's objective is to establish stable operating prospects over the next six to twelve months.
German plant closures and future production
Concerns remain over the potential closure of domestic manufacturing sites as the carmaker attempts to reduce costs. Blume admitted that production facilities in Emden, Hanover, Zwickau, and Neckarsulm do not yet have viable manufacturing prospects for the 2030s.
However, the chief executive assured workers that closing factories will always remain the last resort and the most expensive solution for the business.
Background on Volkswagen operations
Volkswagen is based in Wolfsburg and operates as Europe's largest carmaker, managing a group portfolio of ten vehicle brands. The four German manufacturing sites identified during the meeting represent key industrial hubs, with Emden and Hanover located in Lower Saxony, Zwickau in Saxony, and Neckarsulm in Baden-Wuerttemberg.
