{"id":81064,"date":"2026-08-29T11:16:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T11:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/81064\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T11:16:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T11:16:32","slug":"volkswagen-faces-more-than-critical-crisis-warns-carmakers-boss-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/81064\/","title":{"rendered":"Volkswagen faces \u2018more than critical\u2019 crisis, warns carmaker\u2019s boss"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Oliver<\/a> Oliver Blume, the chief executive of Volkswagen, says ‘we are in the biggest transformation in the history of the global automotive industry’ – Krisztian Bocsi\/Bloomberg <\/p>\n

Volkswagen’s chief executive has warned that the crisis facing the German carmaker is “more than critical”, urging employees to brace for “the biggest upheaval in their history”. <\/p>\n

Oliver Blume said US tariffs, the war in the Middle East and mounting competition from China had all contributed to a downturn that threatens to worsen<\/a> in the coming years. <\/p>\n

In an internal memo seen by The Telegraph, he said that Volkswagen’s current profits<\/a> were “by no means sufficient” for it to continue investing in “new technologies, new products and our locations”. <\/p>\n

He added that “we have to assume that risks will get worse, worldwide”, claiming that “we are in the biggest transformation in the history of the global automotive industry”. <\/p>\n

His comments form part of efforts to win over staff as part of a controversial turnaround plan, which could include closing four of its German factories and laying off as many as 100,000 workers<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The company’s brands include Audi, Porsche and \u0160koda. <\/p>\n

Mr Blume said that “Chinese manufacturers are pushing aggressively into Europe” and selling cars at “price points we cannot match”. <\/p>\n

He added that he could not see any way Volkswagen’s factories in Emden, Hannover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm could remain profitable into the next decade. <\/p>\n

The carmaker’s chief said Volkswagen’s overheads were “still around 30pc above the level of comparable companies”, adding: “We cannot carry that disadvantage indefinitely and must reduce it.” <\/p>\n

Volkswagen made history in December last year by closing its Dresden plant. This was the first time the carmaker had shut one of its German factories in its 88-year history. <\/p>\n

Mr Blume said Volkswagen was also exploring “industrial solutions” to keep its factories running, as he suggested that shutting factories would be “the last and most expensive solution”. <\/p>\n

He highlighted the potential to convert Volkswagen’s Osnabr\u00fcck plant into a production facility for Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, with the aim of saving 2,300 jobs. <\/p>\n

Volkswagen first announced plans to cut 50,000 jobs in 2024. <\/p>\n

However, the restructuring led to a fierce backlash from Germany’s powerful trade unions who have led protests at its factories across the country. <\/p>\n

Mr Blume said Volkswagen had already reached agreements with around 37,000 staff to cut jobs, primarily through early retirement deals. <\/p>\n

The carmaker<\/a> warned last year that Donald Trump’s tariffs would inflict a \u20ac5bn- (\u00a34.4bn) a-year hit on its business. <\/p>\n

Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oliver Blume, the chief executive of Volkswagen, says ‘we are in the biggest transformation in the history of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20947],"tags":[48024,76,21053,5356],"class_list":["post-81064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-volkswagen","tag-blume","tag-german","tag-oliver-blume","tag-volkswagen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}