Volkswagen Prepares Mass Layoffs — Union Warns of Looming Conflict

Volkswagen's management is planning to cut roughly another 50,000 jobs in Germany over the coming years, on top of the 50,000 already announced — and according to some reports, the total number of job losses could reach as high as 90,000. This was reported by Thorsten Gröger, head of the IG Metall trade union branch in Lower Saxony, home to the carmaker's headquarters. According to Volkswagen's annual report, the company employs around 663,000 people worldwide.

"Everything points to a brewing conflict," Gröger told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. He criticized the way the company's leadership has been communicating with the public: "Actions like these don't send positive signals to customers." He added that the union does not want an escalation but is preparing for one. A strike cannot legally be called before the end of this year, Gröger noted, but it could become a real possibility as early as next year.

What's Behind the Crisis

According to Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume, the company is facing a combination of challenges: US tariffs, falling sales in the Chinese market, the fallout from conflicts in the Middle East, and high production costs at its German plants. As a result, the company faces a sweeping restructuring. Besides the plants in Emden and Zwickau, management has previously said there is no competitive future for facilities in Hanover and Neckarsulm either. The Osnabrück plant, in particular, could be redirected toward defense-sector production.

Meetings With Staff and Uncertain Futures for the Plants

Last week, Volkswagen's leadership began a series of works council meetings with employees at its German plants — starting at the Wolfsburg headquarters, followed by Braunschweig, Emden, Zwickau, Chemnitz, Kassel-Baunatal and Salzgitter. A planned staff meeting at the Dresden "Transparent Factory" ultimately did not take place. The last of these meetings was held in Hanover on Monday.

According to Reuters, the company's chief financial officer, Arno Antlitz, told staff at the meeting that management would do everything possible to preserve jobs, but admitted that four plants would have no viable role after 2030. Few details from the internal meetings have leaked to the press, but Reuters reports that Blume urged individual plants to step up cost-cutting measures. Regarding Emden, he reportedly said production costs there remain too high compared with competitors. That plant, like the one in Zwickau, Saxony, is at risk of closure. Thomas Knabel, an IG Metall representative in Zwickau, said after the meeting that Blume had failed to answer key questions about the plant's future.

The Volkswagen Group also owns Czech carmaker Škoda Auto. In July, Škoda said the group's restructuring plan would not have a direct impact on its own operations.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz