Volkswagen just announced the most aggressive restructuring in the company’s 89-year history. The plan: eliminate up to 100,000 jobs globally and shutter four manufacturing plants in Germany.
That’s roughly 15% of VW’s entire workforce of about 657,000 people, gone.
What’s actually happening
CEO Oliver Blume unveiled the restructuring on June 26, targeting four specific German facilities: Hanover, Zwickau, Emden, and Audi’s plant in Neckarsulm. The closures alone could eliminate more than 45,000 jobs in Germany, with the remainder of cuts spread across VW’s global operations.
The motivation is straightforward, even if the execution won’t be. VW is getting crushed on two fronts simultaneously: Chinese automakers are eating into its market share with cheaper, increasingly sophisticated electric vehicles, while European demand for EVs has softened considerably. The company is producing fewer cars but still carrying the operational costs of a manufacturer built for a different era.
