Volkswagen wants to expand the layoffs to nearly 100,000 employees in total. When Diess mentioned one-third of that number, he was dismissed.

Volkswagen Group could face the largest workforce cuts in automotive history. In Germany alone, the company is considering shutting down as many as four factories — Zwickau, Hanover, Emden, and the Audi plant in Neckarsulm — which would result in the loss of 45,000 jobs. Combined with the already implemented cuts affecting 50,000 employees, the total number of layoffs could reach at least 95,000, or even 100,000, Reuters has learned.

Volkswagen’s financial problems mean trouble for Polish suppliers

To date, the title for the most radical cuts in the industry has belonged to General Motors, which during its bankruptcy in 2009 laid off 22,500 people overnight alone in the United States. In the early 1990s, as many as 74,000 jobs were eliminated and 21 factories shut down, though this process took a total of four years. Volkswagen Group has already planned to lay off 50,000 employees by the end of the decade, with 19,000 of those positions to be cut by the end of this year; now it has been revealed that management is considering doubling this figure (source).

Ikonics of Volkswagen’s Plant in Hanover

The plant in Zwickau (about 8,000 employees) was the first to be converted entirely to electric vehicles, producing models on the MEB platform: VW ID.3, ID.4, ID.5, Audi Q4 e-tron and Cupra Born, as well as bodies for Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus (source). From Hanover (about 13,000 people), VW ID. Buzz and VW Multivan are produced; Emden (about 7,700) manufactures VW ID.4, ID.7 and ID.7 Tourer; finally, Neckarsulm (about 15,500) produces Audi A5, A6, A8 and Audi e-tron GT, which is the Porsche Taycan in an Audi body.

Thus, the cuts would affect previous generations of electric vehicles and not include new models such as Audi A2 e-tron (Ingolstadt, Germany) or VW ID. Polo (Martorell, Spain) and VW ID. Cross (Pamplona, Spain).

Volkswagen ID. Cross and the other three affordable electric vehicles based on the MEB+ platform will be produced in Spain.

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume is behind the job cuts, with board members and representatives of the Piech and Porsche families reportedly supporting him. When former CEO Herbert Diess spoke a few years ago about the need to cut tens of thousands of jobs, these same people exiled him to Carriad before firing him on the grounds of poor performance. Of course, the workers’ council and trade unions are opposed to the restructuring, arguing that the problem isn’t costs but the fact that Volkswagen is producing cars that people don’t want to buy.

In fact, it is the Chinese conglomerates that pose the biggest problem, as they not only lose interest in Western brands but also start dominating the European market:

Sales of Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche compared to Geely and BYD (c) by: Reuters

A note from Elektrowozu’s editorial team: Volkswagen’s problems in Germany are major issues for Polish companies. It is possible that layoffs on a “one in two rows” basis will occur in many countries, regardless of performance.

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