Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume officially disclosed the personnel restructuring and cost-reduction plan at the annual shareholders’ meeting on June 18. The core passenger car brand will cut 19,000 jobs in Germany by the end of this year, with a total of 28,000 job cuts by 2030. This target is classified as a “binding” hard indicator. When combined with all business units including Audi, Porsche, and the software subsidiary CARIAD, the total number of job cuts in Germany is expected to reach approximately 50,000 by 2030. According to Sina Tech, this round of layoffs will be carried out primarily through voluntary resignation, early retirement, and natural attrition. Agreements have already been reached with approximately 28,000 employees for voluntary departure, and large-scale forced layoffs will not be adopted.
In terms of production capacity, the annual global vehicle production capacity plan has been reduced from 12 million to 9 million units, with a decrease of 730,000 units in Germany. The main plant in Wolfsburg will reduce its production lines from 4 to 2, while the Zwickau and Emden plants will each cut one production line. The “Transparent Factory” in Dresden has officially ceased production, marking the first time Volkswagen has closed a domestic assembly plant in Germany in 88 years. Management acknowledged that relying solely on cost-cutting will not be enough to achieve profitability. The company will continue to intensify reforms in a challenging market environment to maintain steady operations with stable delivery volumes.