Volkswagen is planning to axe another 50,000 jobs, taking the total to 100,000.
Chief executive Oliver Blume outlined the plans in a memo to staff as he desperately bids to cut costs at Europe’s largest car maker.
The cull – alongside the potential closure of four factories in Germany – looks set to be one of the biggest job-cutting programmes in German corporate history.
Blume said: ‘Group headcount has been growing for decades to a level that’s no longer viable today.’
Bosses at VW – which owns Porsche and Audi – are battling to streamline the group as profits slump in the face of tariffs, subdued demand and stiff competition from Chinese car makers.
