Volkswagen Group, Europe's largest carmaker, is considering cutting up to 100,000 jobs worldwide — double the number previously announced — as it grapples with a dramatic fall in profits, shrinking sales in key markets, and intensifying competition from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. Chief executive Oliver Blume confirmed the scale of potential cuts in an internal memo, saying the group's costs remain roughly 20% above those of comparable rivals, and that without changes to labour costs, a theoretical reduction of around 50,000 positions worldwide would be required. Reports citing a broader restructuring proposal put the potential figure as high as 100,000, and in some accounts 120,000.

The group, which encompasses brands including Audi, Porsche, Seat, and Škoda alongside the core Volkswagen marque, has seen its operating profit fall sharply — from €22.6 billion in 2023 to €19.1 billion in 2024, and further still to €8.9 billion last year. Sales in China, once one of VW's most lucrative markets, dropped 26% in the first half of this year, while US sales fell more than 7%, partly attributed to tariffs on car imports introduced by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers have expanded aggressively into European and global markets, offering new technology at lower production costs and squeezing profit margins for established Western brands.

Four German factories — in Zwickau and Emden, which produce electric vehicles, as well as plants in Hanover and Neckarsulm, home to an Audi facility — face possible closure, with Blume acknowledging the company cannot yet confirm competitive workloads for those sites into the 2030s.