Volkswagen Group agrees to lay off 100,000 employees within 10 years, the largest restructuring in the history of the global auto industry

(Central News Agency Frankfurt, comprehensive foreign news report on the 3rd) Faced with pressures such as competition from Chinese car companies, U.S. tariffs and weak demand for electric vehicles, the management of Germany's Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen) and the union reached an agreement to lay off 100,000 employees within 10 years, becoming the largest restructuring plan in the history of the global auto industry.

Agence France-Presse reported that Fox said it had approved a plan to lay off about 50,000 more employees, adding to another 50,000 previously agreed upon, for a total of 100,000 employees, equivalent to about 15% of Fox's global workforce.

In addition to Volkswagen's own brand, Volkswagen Automotive Group, which also includes 10 brands such as Audi and Porsche, said that "it is crucial to systematically adjust the number of employees in accordance with economic realities."

Europe's largest automaker is currently in trouble due to U.S. tariffs, unstable demand for electric vehicles and, most importantly, fierce competition from the Chinese market and Chinese automakers.

Flowserve pointed out that company management and unions agreed that the long-term future of four factories in Germany, located in Hannover, Emden, Zwickau and Neckarsulm, cannot be guaranteed; however, Flowserve also said that it is studying other uses for these factories.

If these plants are indeed closed, it will be the first time that Volkswagen has closed a complete large-scale plant in Germany.

Fox CEO Oliver Blume said: "The Supervisory Board has unanimously approved the future plans of the Executive Board presented today. This is a strong signal for the future development of the Volkswagen Group."

The plans were preceded by bitter public disputes between unions and management. The union accused management of not being honest with employees because the company only explained the "possible layoff of 100,000 employees" to internal employees after the number was exposed in the media.

Germany's WirtschaftsWoche recently reported that company management is studying ways to bypass the supervisory board. The report angered Germany's powerful metal industry union (IG Metall), which described the idea as "nonsense, rubbish and nonsense".

Flowserve said in a statement today that "the supervisory board has asked the executive board to develop an adjusted decision-making model and group structure," adding that the approval threshold will be "adjusted accordingly" to comply with industry standard practices.

According to the provisions of the Volkswagen Privatization Act of 1960, the board of supervisors must have the consent of 2/3 members before passing a resolution to "establish or relocate" a factory. This provision has been widely interpreted to mean that since labor representatives hold half of the seats on the supervisory board, they have de facto power to prevent factory closures.