Volkswagen is bracing for what it calls the “most radical transformation” in the group’s history. CEO Oliver Blume announced a cut of about a quarter of managerial positions, a move delivered directly during his visit to the Emden plant, one of the facilities most affected by this efficiency drive.
At the plant currently producing the Volkswagen ID.7 and ID.4, there is no guarantee of manufacturing continuity beyond 2030. Blume, who also serves as Porsche’s CEO, stressed that the strategy’s success depends on everyone moving together. “We have to face it together,” he told workers.
Manager Cuts and Uncertain Plant Futures
The managerial job cuts are part of the strategic 2030 plan presented last spring but initially rejected. The supervisory board is scheduled to vote on September 4 to decide whether to proceed. Besides Emden, the Zwickau, Hannover, and Neckarsulm plants are also said to lack a defined industrial roadmap after 2030.
According to La Stampa, the root causes lie in declining sales in China and mounting cost pressures. Volkswagen’s shares in Frankfurt have lost about 30% of their value. Blume himself acknowledged that labor costs in Germany are currently more than double those at comparable European sites, a bitter reality driving this efficiency push.
Internal Reactions and Rescue Efforts
Internally, trust in management is beginning to waver. The works council led by Daniela Cavallo cited “broken trust” due to a lack of transparency. Meanwhile, from the Osnabruck plant producing the T-Roc Cabriolet, a new opportunity emerges: converting the facility into a defense logistics hub in negotiations with Israel’s Rafael company.
However, final decisions on the fate of these plants remain up in the air. The supervisory board must negotiate with workers and the state government of Lower Saxony, which holds a two-thirds majority under Volkswagen’s law. Cavallo stressed that a future vision cannot be based solely on plant sites, labor costs, and staff reductions. For now, Blume has ruled out abandoning the plants at risk, but called closures an “extreme” option and pledged to seek partners, investors, and new industrial solutions.
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