Board of German carmaker Volkswagen has approved a plan to cut another 50,000 jobs.
This brings the total number of roles the company plans to shed by 2030 to 100,000.
The company, which owns famous brands like Audi, Porsche, and Skoda, first announced it would cut 50,000 roles by the end of the decade back in March. Now, they are moving forward with even deeper cuts to survive a tough market.
CEO Oliver Blume called the move a “strong signal” for the future of the firm, stating that the company is “taking responsibility for our entire workforce.” In a statement, Volkswagen explained that a “fundamental adjustment of the global workforce capability is necessary” to keep the company competitive against new technology and changing customer demands.
The reasons behind these painful cuts are clear. Volkswagen has seen its profits drop sharply due to falling sales and fierce global competition. Chinese carmakers, like BYD, are expanding aggressively. They are rolling out new electric vehicles with lower production costs, taking market share in Europe and Southeast Asia. At the same time, Volkswagen’s sales in the US have slipped, partly due to new tariffs on car imports.
Because of this, the company is now looking closely at the future of several major plants in Germany, including Emden and Zwickau. In these locations, production capacity is simply higher than what the market actually demands.
As of last year, VW employed more than 660,000 people worldwide. Cutting 100,000 of those roles is a massive shift for a company that once defined the German economy.
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Christianne Benner, a top union leader, noted that the carmaker had “fought hard for good solutions” to address this “crisis situation.”
But for the tens of thousands of workers facing the axe, the crisis is already here. This marks the biggest restructuring in Volkswagen’s nearly 90-year history. It is a harsh reminder that even the most powerful names in the industry are not safe from a rapidly changing world.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
