VW supervisory board approves restructuring plan – job cuts and plant closures are being discussed

The Volkswagen supervisory board has approved the board's restructuring plan. The company announced after a meeting of the Executive Board that the vote was unanimous. Europe's largest car manufacturer is considering cutting 50,000 jobs, half of them in Germany, and closing four German plants.

For the Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm locations, no competitive subsequent occupancy can be guaranteed on a staggered basis from 2031 to 2034, the dpa news agency quoted the company as saying. It said that “alternative uses for these works would be examined in parallel and in addition.” A concept for a sustainable and competitive production structure that is compatible with the target should be developed for the European plants by the end of June 2027.

According to Volkswagen, the plan is intended to make it more competitive

According to the Management Board and the Supervisory Board, the implementation of the savings plan is absolutely necessary in order to maintain the competitiveness of the Volkswagen Group and to secure it sustainably for the future. The plan creates the conditions to make the Volkswagen Group and its brands more efficient, more competitive and more future-oriented, it said.

IG Metall and the group works council said that the approval prevented an escalation. "No plant has been abandoned and, contrary to several media reports, no plant closure has been sealed," it said. "Rather, concrete solutions must now be developed for all locations - we continue to expressly believe that the board of directors has a duty," said IG Metall boss Christiane Benner and works council head Daniela Cavallo in a joint statement.

The first savings plan failed

Before the meeting of the control committee, the employee side and the state of Lower Saxony had stated, according to media reports, that they wanted to submit their own proposals. According to Politico magazine, Lower Saxony's Economics Minister Grant Hendrik Tonne demanded that the VW board come up with a concept to utilize the locations and maintain industrial jobs in Germany.