BERLIN: Volkswagen AG plans to eliminate 100,000 jobs and end production at four German plants over the coming years, according to a report published Friday, a move that would mark the most radical restructuring in the automaker’s 89-year history.
The plan, reported by Manager Magazin, would see Europe’s largest automaker shed roughly 15% of its workforce as it faces intensifying competition from Chinese electric vehicle brands. The Wolfsburg-based company would also reduce planned investment by about 15% over the next five years to just over 130 billion euros ($148.2 billion), the report said.
Production would cease at plants in Hanover, Zwickau, Emden and at Audi’s Neckarsulm site, according to Manager Magazin.
Volkswagen had previously outlined sweeping job cuts and launched a major product offensive to boost profitability. But the figures cited by Manager Magazin represent a sharp acceleration of those plans. Earlier expectations had called for about 50,000 job reductions across Germany by 2030.
In late 2024, Volkswagen reached an agreement with unions to avoid factory closures in Germany and rule out compulsory redundancies through the end of 2030.
“The entire Group including its brands and subsidiaries must undergo profound change,” a Volkswagen spokesperson said.
Shares of Volkswagen traded 0.2% lower Friday and have fallen more than 25% year-to-date.
Volkswagen’s General Works Council and the IG Metall industrial union pledged to fight the reported cuts and closures. “If such plans were to be pushed forward, we would prevent them with all our might,” they said in a joint statement, according to a translation.
Volkswagen employed about 657,400 people at the end of the first quarter of 2026, according to company figures.
