The plan, reported on Friday, would see Europe’s largest automobile manufacturer shed roughly 15% of its workforce as it seeks to counter intensifying competition<\/a> from Chinese car brands. <\/p>\n It would also see the Wolfsburg-headquartered company reduce planned investment in the company by about 15% to just over 130 billion euros ($148.2 billion) over the next five years and cease production at plants in Hanover, Zwickau, Emden, alongside Audi’s Neckarsulm site. <\/p>\n Volkswagen had already laid out plans to implement sweeping job cuts and launched a major product offensive as it seeks to boost profitability. <\/p>\n The figures cited by Manager Magazin, however, represent a stark acceleration of those planned job cuts, given that around 50,000 jobs had been expected across the company in Germany by 2030.<\/p>\n Volkswagen agreed a deal with unions in late 2024 to avoid factory closures in Germany and rule out compulsory redundancies until the end of 2030. <\/p>\n A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on “internal, confidential documents” when contacted by CNBC, saying decisions would be taken and approved by the relevant governing bodies, according to a Google translation. <\/p>\n “The entire Group\u2014including its brands and subsidiaries\u2014must undergo profound change,” the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n Shares of Volkswagen were last seen trading 0.2% lower on Friday. The stock price has fallen more than 25% year-to-date. <\/p>\n Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Volkswagen shares in the year-to-date.<\/p>\n Volkswagen’s General Works Council and German industrial union IG Metall pledged to push back against the reported job cuts and plant closures.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n Volkswagen had a workforce of about 657,400 employees at the end of the first quarter of 2026, according<\/a> to the company.<\/p>\n![\"hide](\"https:\/\/static-redesign.cnbcfm.com\/dist\/a54b41835a8b60db28c2.svg\")
<\/p>\n