Volkswagen, which already in March had announced 50,000 job cuts in Germany by 2030, is considering further cuts. The German newspaper Manager Magazin reports this, citing two anonymous sources, according to which the reduction in the workforce could reach up to 100 thousand employees in the coming years. The German group, like the rest of the automotive industry, is in crisis, hit by soaring energy costs, growing Chinese competition, difficulties in switching to electric and trade tensions with the United States. In a joint statement, the Volkswagen works council and the IG Metall trade union said that “the new articles in the press rightly worry our staff and the regions where our plants are located.” “If such projects were to be implemented, we would do everything in our power to prevent them,” write the works council and the union.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume would like to close four factories in Germany, Manager Magazin continues, and is even thinking of spinning off the Volkswagen brand to transform it into a new company. Last April 30, the group which brings together a total of ten brands (including, in addition to VW, Audi and Porsche, Skoda and Seat) announced a 28% drop in net profit in the first quarter and declared its intention to accelerate its savings program as a result.