Volkswagen, Europe's largest automaker, unveiled a sweeping new restructuring plan on Tuesday that could eliminate up to 50,000 additional jobs worldwide, bringing the total number of positions at risk since 2024 to roughly 100,000. Chief Executive Oliver Blume addressed nearly 10,000 workers at the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg, a city in the northern German state of Lower Saxony, in the first stop of a week-long tour of VW's German plants — but workers and union representatives left the meeting largely unconvinced.

Blume sought to soften the blow by framing the 50,000 figure as a "theoretical calculation derived from our costs" rather than a fixed target, noting that VW's cost base currently runs about 30% above comparable competitors. Around half of the planned reductions are expected to fall in Germany, with the remainder spread across roughly 170 companies internationally. He pledged to rely "as much as possible" on voluntary departures, early retirement schemes, and a restrictive hiring policy, while promising to define concrete measures in consultation with worker representatives. Four German plants — in Emden, Hanover, Zwickau, and Neckarsulm — were singled out as having no clear production outlook for the 2030s, though Blume insisted that closures remain "always the last resort and the most costly solution."

The reception was hostile. Workers booed Blume on his arrival at the Wolfsburg assembly hall, where union representatives lined the stage holding banners reading "Our jobs are not your accounting adjustment" and "Respect is non-negotiable." Daniela Cavallo, chair of VW's works council, was blunt: "You cannot work with a CEO who does not tell his people what is really happening. Trust in the board, and especially in Oliver Blume, has been damaged — not yet beyond repair, but damaged." Thorsten Gröger, the regional head of the powerful IG Metall union, warned that cost-cutting alone does not constitute a strategy, and that workers have already contributed €1.5 billion to the company's recovery efforts. He did not rule out strikes.

The unions and VW's second-largest shareholder, the state of Lower Saxony, which holds a 20% stake, are each preparing alternative future plans to present to the supervisory board when it reconvenes on 4 September. Under Germany's co-determination system, worker representatives hold seats on corporate supervisory boards, giving them real blocking power; the board already rejected a management restructuring push in early July. The state's Social Democrat premier has again ruled out any plant closures.

VW's difficulties stem from a convergence of pressures: a sharp sales decline in China, where domestic electric vehicle brands have eroded its once-dominant position; a tougher US market following tariffs imposed by the Trump administration; and intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers now entering European markets. Despite all this, VW is not facing collapse — second-quarter profits fell by a third year-on-year, but the group remains profitable. The Porsche and Piëch families, VW's largest shareholder bloc, are nonetheless pushing hard for deeper restructuring and higher returns, adding pressure on Blume to act. Blume continues his plant tour on Wednesday, heading to Emden and Zwickau.