Volkswagen weighs turnaround plan amid 50,000 job cuts

Volkswagen faces a high-stakes restructuring as management, unions, and state governments push to secure a turnaround plan without devastating jobs, with a supervisory board meeting scheduled for September 4 to decide on possibly tens of thousands of additional losses. CEO Oliver Blume has sought to double planned cuts to as many as 50,000, raise urgency around factory closures, and consider spinning off divisions, fueling opposition from unions and concern from Lower Saxony, Volkswagen’s second-biggest shareholder. Lower Saxony premier Olaf Lies has pressed for rapid alignment among stakeholders, underscoring the company’s broader economic and social responsibilities across its sites in Germany amid tariffs, weak demand, and fierce China competition. In Saxony, state leader Michael Kretschmer urged a joint effort to preserve production in Germany and address the future of the Zwickau plant, highlighting energy costs and EU policy as complicating factors but rejecting any offshoring solution. The discussions emphasize balancing cost-cutting with social responsibility to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs linked to Volkswagen’s operations, suppliers, and service networks across Germany. Overall, the coming days will test whether VW can reconcile corporate efficiency with regional political and labor interests to stabilise the company’s trajectory.