Is Volkswagen planning to cut 100,000 jobs? Here’s VW’s response

Volkswagen has refused to deny a report that CEO Oliver Blume wants to cut up to 100,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

The development added fresh pressure to Europe’s largest carmaker as it tries to repair margins and shrink an oversized industrial base.

The figure comes from Germany’s Manager Magazin, not from a company announcement.

But VW’s response was notable. It did not call the number wrong. Instead, the group said the matter still had to go through its internal decision-making process.

Is VW planning deeper cuts?

Manager Magazin reported on Friday that Blume is preparing a much deeper restructuring of Volkswagen than investors have seen so far.

The headline number is the biggest part of the story: up to 100,000 jobs could be cut globally over the next few years.

That would be a huge move even for a company as large as VW, which employs hundreds of thousands of workers across brands including Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Skoda and Seat.

The same report said VW may stop production at four German plants over the medium term.

These include Volkswagen sites in Hanover, Zwickau and Emden, as well as Audi’s Neckarsulm plant.

The report said that production would end once the models currently built there are phased out.

There is also an investment angle. Manager Magazin said Blume wants to reduce the five-year investment by around 15%, bringing planned spending down to just over €130 billion, or about $148 billion.

That matters because VW is trying to fund an expensive shift to electric vehicles and software while also defending itself against cheaper Chinese rivals, weak European demand and US tariffs.

For now, this remains a magazine report. VW has not formally announced 100,000 job cuts.

VW’s response: A non-denial

Volkswagen’s statement was carefully worded as the company said it would not comment on confidential documents.

It added that the “relevant facts” would be discussed and approved by the proper bodies, and that VW would not “pre-empt this process”.

In simple words, the company is saying that decisions are not final until the works council, supervisory board and other internal bodies have had their say.

But the more revealing line came next. VW said its executive board had repeatedly emphasised that the group’s current business model “no longer works for all brands in its present form”.

The analysts are reading that as a sign that management believes bigger change is needed.

Jefferies analysts had warned as far back as 2024 that VW’s management appeared to have “no plan B” that would avoid capacity reduction, according to Investopedia.

The latest report points to the same problem: Volkswagen’s costs are too high, its factories have too much spare capacity, and its margins leave little room for error.