Volkswagen Proposes Up to 100,000 Job Cuts and Factory Closures, Subject to Supervisory Board Vote

Volkswagen has proposed cutting up to 100,000 jobs and closing factories as part of a transformation plan. Formal proposals will go before the supervisory board on Thursday. IG Metall organized demonstrations at 18 sites across Germany for Thursday between 11.20am and 2pm.

The sites include the company headquarters in Wolfsburg and plants that produce vehicles for Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and MAN trucks and buses. Christiane Benner, chair of IG Metall, said the protests send a clear signal to the board. The union warned chief executive Oliver Blume that he cannot pass the buck for failures of recent years onto the workforce.

The plan includes possible closure of four German plants at Hanover, Emden, Zwickau and Audi’s Neckarsulm site, along with up to 50,000 additional job cuts tied to those closures. Volkswagen employs more than 650,000 people across all its brands, which include Audi, Bentley, Skoda, Seat and Cupra.

The supervisory board consists of company representatives, union representatives and local politicians under the Volkswagen Act.

Nineteen of the 20 seats are currently occupied, with the labour side holding 10 seats. Plants at Zwickau and Neckarsulm are not covered by the Volkswagen law, so their closure would not require supervisory board approval.