Volkswagen Board Approves Future Plan Cutting 50,000 Jobs

The supervisory board of Volkswagen AG unanimously approved a comprehensive restructuring effort called the Future Plan during a meeting in Wolfsburg, Germany. The overhaul authorizes 50,000 additional job cuts, representing approximately 8% of the company's global workforce, to address high costs, weak demand, and intensifying competition from Chinese automakers.

Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume led the effort after describing the global automotive industry as being in a mega crisis. The approved plan targets an operating margin of 9% by 2030 on annual sales of 9 million vehicles and aims to reduce the company's vehicle lineup by up to 50% by 2035.

While the agreement avoids immediate factory closures, the company identified excess annual capacity of 500,000 vehicles in Europe. Management specifically flagged plants in Emden, Hannover, Neckarsulm, and Zwickau as lacking competitive follow-on production between 2031 and 2034.

The decision follows a period of intense tension. Initially, the IG Metall union and the Government of Lower Saxony rejected the scale and pace of the proposed cuts. Management had even suggested bypassing the supervisory board via an extraordinary shareholder meeting to gain leverage. However, both the union and the state government eventually backed the plan to avoid further escalation.