In mid-June, we announced the news that the CEO of Volkswagen, Oliver Blumeplans to lay off 28,000 employees by the end of 2030, but it seems that the cuts could be even bigger than originally said.
According to German media, the management is considering closing four more factories in Germany, which could bring the total number of laid-off employees to almost 100,000. These are plants in Hanover, Zwickau, Emden and Neckarsulm. If the proposal is accepted at the meeting scheduled for July 9, it would be the largest restructuring in the history of Volkswagen.
In addition to reducing the number of employees, Volkswagen is reportedly planning to cut the investment budget by 15 percent, to slightly more than 130 billion euros over the next five years. Blume CEO and CFO Arno face they reportedly want to carry out a comprehensive reorganization of the company, including separating the Volkswagen brand and the auto parts business into separate business units.
As expected, the plans have met with strong opposition from the Volkswagen works council and the German union IG Metall, which have said they will do anything to prevent their implementation.
“If such plans are indeed attempted to be implemented, we will do everything in our power to stop them,” they said in a joint statement.