BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany, July 13 (World Daily Times) — Volkswagen is weighing another round of job cuts as it tries to reshape its German manufacturing base for the 2030s, according to an internal memo from CEO Oliver Blume reported by RTE.
Blume said the company may need to cut about 50,000 more jobs, on top of earlier reductions already announced. In the same memo, he said Volkswagen still cannot confirm competitive uses for its plants in Emden, Hanover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm in the 2030s.
What Volkswagen is saying
The phrase “competitive use” is corporate shorthand for a simple question: does a factory have a clear business case that keeps it busy, efficient and profitable in the years ahead? Blume’s memo suggests Volkswagen does not yet have that answer for the four sites named.
That does not mean the plants are closed. It means the company is still in the planning stage and has not confirmed a long-term path for them.
Why the number matters
Reuters reported on June 26 that, based on two people familiar with the matter, Volkswagen was considering closing four German factories and lifting job cuts to as many as 100,000. Reuters said Blume had presented the plans to senior executives and that the supervisory board had been informed ahead of a planned discussion.
Reuters also reported that closing the plants in Hanover, Zwickau, Emden and Audi’s Neckarsulm site could put more than 45,000 jobs at risk. That estimate was based on the people familiar with the matter cited in the report.
How this fits with earlier cuts
This latest round would build on reductions Volkswagen had already put on the table. BBC reported that Blume said in a letter included in the company’s annual report that Volkswagen planned to eliminate 50,000 positions in Germany by 2030.
BBC also reported that Volkswagen had reached an agreement with labor unions to reduce more than 35,000 jobs nationwide by 2030, with savings of about €15 billion.
Reuters reported earlier, on June 11, that Blume said the company aimed to reduce its workforce by 19,000 by the end of the year and had a target of eliminating more than 28,000 positions by 2030.
Where the process stands now
Volkswagen’s public messaging shows the restructuring is still moving through the company’s approval process. Euronews reported that a Volkswagen spokesperson said: “The relevant facts of the matter will be discussed and approved by the relevant bodies. We will not pre-empt this process.”
Reuters said the supervisory board was due to discuss the restructuring on July 9. The material available does not show whether that discussion produced a final decision.
Why workers and regions are watching closely
The plants named in the memo are tied to major industrial cities in Germany. Any long-term change at those sites would affect workers directly and could also ripple through local economies.
Reuters reported that Lower Saxony, Volkswagen’s second-largest shareholder, and unions were expected to resist deep cuts. That makes the company’s next steps politically sensitive as well as financially important.
For now, the key point is that Volkswagen has not confirmed final closures. The company is signaling that more cuts may be needed, but the exact scale, timing and plant-by-plant outcome are still being worked through.
