“Volkswagen has already spent months cutting costs. Now the company is reportedly considering a restructuring so deep it could reshape one of the world’s biggest carmakers for a generation.”
Volkswagen is weighing plans to cut as many as 100,000 jobs worldwide and shut down four factories in Germany as part of what could become the biggest restructuring in the company’s nearly 90-year history.
The proposed overhaul, which has been presented internally by chief executive Oliver Blume, comes as Volkswagen struggles with slowing demand, mounting pressure from Chinese automakers, trade tariffs, and the enormous cost of transitioning to electric vehicles. While the plans have not been formally approved, people familiar with the discussions say they will be reviewed by Volkswagen’s supervisory board at a meeting scheduled for July 9.
If carried out, the restructuring would almost double the scale of workforce reductions already agreed with labour unions.
Late in 2024, Volkswagen reached an agreement to eliminate about 50,000 jobs through voluntary measures. The latest proposal would add another 50,000 positions, bringing total planned reductions to around 100,000 over the next several years. With Volkswagen employing roughly 667,000 people globally at the end of 2025, the cuts would represent one of the largest workforce reductions ever attempted by a European industrial company.
The report also outlines significant changes to Volkswagen’s manufacturing footprint.
According to people familiar with the plans, production could eventually end at plants in Hanover, Zwickau, Emden, and Audi’s Neckarsulm facility once current vehicle programmes are completed. Together, those sites employ more than 45,000 workers, making any closures politically and economically sensitive in Germany, where Volkswagen remains one of the country’s biggest employers.
The company is also looking beyond job cuts.
The reported strategy would reduce planned investment by about 15%, lowering Volkswagen’s five-year spending plan to just over €130 billion ($148 billion). Manager Magazin also reported that executives are examining whether the core Volkswagen passenger car business and parts operations should eventually be separated into distinct entities as part of a broader effort to simplify the group’s structure.
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Volkswagen has not confirmed the details.
A company spokesperson declined to comment on what it described as confidential internal documents but acknowledged that the entire group faces profound structural challenges.
“The entire group, including its brands and subsidiaries, must undergo far-reaching change,” the spokesperson said, while adding that any decisions would go through the company’s established governing bodies before being finalised.
The proposals have already triggered strong opposition.
Volkswagen’s powerful works council and Germany’s IG Metall union issued a joint statement warning they would fight any attempt to close factories or deepen job cuts. Their resistance could become one of the biggest obstacles facing Blume’s plan, particularly because the state of Lower Saxony Volkswagen’s second-largest shareholder has historically opposed large-scale reductions in German manufacturing jobs.
The pressure on Volkswagen has been building for years.
The company has steadily lost ground in China, once its strongest overseas market, as domestic manufacturers such as BYD expanded rapidly in electric vehicles. After leading China’s passenger car market for years, Volkswagen slipped behind BYD in 2024 and dropped to third place in 2025. At the same time, Chinese automakers have accelerated their expansion into Europe, increasing competition on Volkswagen’s home turf while the company continues investing billions of euros in electrification and software development.
Investors remain cautious about whether such a sweeping overhaul can actually be delivered.
Volkswagen shares were trading near 16-year lows following the reports, reflecting doubts over both the company’s long-term competitiveness and the likelihood that management can implement reforms of this scale against determined political and union resistance.
Whether every element of the proposal survives remains uncertain.
But one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Volkswagen believes incremental cost-cutting is no longer enough. As competition intensifies and the global automotive industry changes at unprecedented speed, the company appears prepared to consider measures that would have been almost unthinkable just a few years ago.
Promise Idoko is a tech analyst and writer at Moderncrux, specializing in artificial intelligence, fintech, and emerging technologies. Based in Nigeria, he is dedicated to delivering insightful and accessible coverage of complex technological developments. His work explores the impact of innovation on businesses, industries, and societies, with a particular focus on Africa’s evolving technology landscape and its connection to global trends.
