Volkswagen to cut 100,000 jobs by 2030

Volkswagen said Thursday that management and unions had agreed to cut 100,000 jobs by the end of the decade, deepening a restructuring at Europe's largest carmaker.

The German group said it had approved a plan to reduce about 50,000 jobs, on top of another 50,000 already agreed. Volkswagen said the total cuts would amount to about 15% of its staff worldwide.

“It is essential to systematically align workforce levels with economic realities,” the 10-brand group said. Volkswagen's brands include Audi and Porsche.

The company has been hit by US tariffs, uneven demand for electric cars and competition in and from China. AFP reported that the planned cuts would be the largest restructuring carried out in the global automotive industry, eclipsing the 50,000 job cuts General Motors made after it declared bankruptcy in 2009.

Volkswagen said management and unions agreed that the long-term future of four German plants — in Hannover, Emden, Zwickau and Neckarsulm — could not be guaranteed. It said alternative uses for the plants were being examined.

Union leaders said no plant closure had been approved. In a joint statement, IG Metall union and Volkswagen supervisory board members Christiane Benner and Daniela Cavallo said worker representatives and the state of Lower Saxony had prevented an escalation of the conflict.

The approval by Volkswagen's supervisory board, made up of labour and shareholder representatives, marked progress after public clashes between management and unions.

Chief executive Oliver Blume said the supervisory board had unanimously approved the executive board's future plan. Volkswagen also said the company had agreed to curb the supervisory board's power, with approval thresholds to be adjusted as part of changes to decision-making and group structure.