Volkswagen future plan 2030: 50,000 jobs gone

The Volkswagen Group is facing a far-reaching restructuring. On Thursday evening, after weeks of disputes, the supervisory board unanimously approved large parts of the executive board's restructuring concept around Group CEO Oliver Blume. A threatened further escalation between the executive board, the state of Lower Saxony as a key shareholder, and the employee side is thus off the table for the time being.

By approving the Future Plan 2030, Volkswagen is setting the course for the company's sustainable and long-term success, the group says. "The Future Plan 2030 creates the conditions to position the Volkswagen Group and its brands to be more capable, more competitive, and more future-oriented."

Group CEO Blume spoke of a strong signal for the future. Supervisory board chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch said the supervisory board was convinced "that its implementation will secure the Volkswagen Group's lasting viability and competitiveness".

Lower Saxony's Minister-President Olaf Lies pointed to enormous challenges for Volkswagen and the German auto industry. "All the more important, therefore, is that we now take a common path for the necessary transformation," said the SPD politician.

Four VW plants remain in focus

Volkswagen describes the Future Plan 2030 as the "most strategically profound transformation program in the history of the Volkswagen Group." For the European plants, a "concept for a sustainable and competitive production structure is to be developed" by the end of June 2027.

The Supervisory Board has taken note that there is a production overcapacity of 500,000 vehicles in the Volkswagen Group in Europe. For Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm, "currently no competitive follow-up allocation staggered from the years 2031 to 2034 can be guaranteed."

Volkswagen is keeping further options open for these locations: "For these plants, alternative possible uses are being examined in parallel and additionally."

How the Volkswagen Future Plan 2030 cuts jobs

In addition to existing programs, Volkswagen considers a further fundamental adjustment of global personnel capacities to be necessary. A consistent adjustment to the economic reality is indispensable, it says regarding the planned reduction of around 50,000 jobs.

The management structures are also to become leaner and the decision-making paths shorter. Thus, in addition to production and employees, the corporate restructuring also encompasses the organization of the company.

The deputy chairwoman of the supervisory board and first chairwoman of IG Metall, Christiane Benner, emphasized: "With the future plan now adopted, together with the executive board and shareholders we are facing the enormous challenges."

Group works council chief Daniela Cavallo described the future plan as "a necessity in order to lead our group successfully into the next decade, without the associated projects being borne unilaterally at the expense of the employees".

VW Osnabrück: State of Lower Saxony examines participation

A new option is emerging for VW Osnabrück: Lower Saxony is examining participation in an industrial future solution for the plant with around 2,000 employees.

Volkswagen halves its model range

The restructuring extends into the product portfolio. By 2035, the Volkswagen Group wants to reduce its model range by around 50%. The complexity of the offering is even to decrease by around 75%. The focus will be placed on the most attractive vehicles.

The portfolio of holdings and businesses is also under review. It will be "consistently reduced according to their strategic and economic contribution to the core business". A streamlining by around one third is planned.

What the Volkswagen future plan 2030 means for the plants

IG Metall and the group works council see the agreement as having prevented an escalation. At the same time, they are calling on the executive board to do its homework. In their view, a spin-off of the core Volkswagen passenger cars brand and the VW components division is off the table. No plant has been abandoned and no plant closure has been sealed.

However, criticism of management's approach so far remains. Benner and Cavallo declared: "The confrontational course and the communication of the Executive Board in recent weeks were not productive."

Auto expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer also still sees no final solution and described the future plan as a light version. "The plant closures have not been decided, but neither have they been suspended," he said. The compromise is at least better than the agonizing public discussions of the past 24 months.

In the coming months, the focus will now be on improvements, product plans or possible plant closures. From Dudenhöffer's point of view, this should bring a certain easing of tensions, but still far from "peace."

With material from dpa