WOLFSBURG, GERMANY / RankWire.AI / – Volkswagen is assessing workforce reductions that could bring total job cuts across the group to as many as 100,000. Chief Executive Oliver Blume told employees that current calculations point to about 50,000 additional reductions worldwide. Those positions would come on top of roughly 50,000 cuts already covered by agreements in Germany. The latest figure remains under review. Volkswagen has not announced a final global program covering all 100,000 positions.
The existing program runs through 2030 and covers Volkswagen’s passenger vehicle business, Audi, Porsche and software unit CARIAD. The company has said 35,000 of the agreed cuts relate to Volkswagen AG. Binding agreements already cover more than 28,000 departures by 2030. Volkswagen has used voluntary exits and partial retirement for its German program. It has not presented the existing plan as an immediate round of compulsory layoffs.
Volkswagen employed 662,942 people worldwide at the end of 2025, including workers at its Chinese joint ventures. Germany accounted for 284,032 employees, while 378,910 worked outside the country. The global workforce fell 2.4% from the previous year. Active employees totaled 628,893. Other staff were participating in partial retirement or training programs. Volkswagen has not released a regional or brand-level allocation for the additional 50,000 positions under assessment.
Existing agreements cover 50,000 positions
The group recorded about 1 billion euros in sustainable cost effects during 2025 from workforce reductions and collective bargaining agreements. It has set a target of more than 6 billion euros in annual net savings by 2030. Volkswagen also reported that factory costs at its German sites fell by more than 20% on average in 2025. Its wider restructuring program includes lower overhead, simpler management structures and improved plant efficiency.
On July 9, the executive board presented 12 initiatives and a 2030 operating plan to the supervisory board. The plan calls for reducing the model lineup by up to 50%. It also targets a reduction of up to 75% in available vehicle configurations and options. Volkswagen set annual production capacity at about 9 million vehicles. Before the pandemic, the group had capacity for about 12 million vehicles. It has already removed capacity for 2 million vehicles.
Production and product ranges face reductions
The July plan covers product ranges, technology platforms, production capacity, regional operations and management structures. It also directs the group to concentrate its investment portfolio on the automotive business. Volkswagen said digital tools, artificial intelligence and shared services will support changes in development and administrative functions. The published plan did not assign a specific number of additional job cuts to each initiative. It also provided no country-by-country schedule for further workforce reductions.
Volkswagen delivered 4.1 million vehicles worldwide during the first half of 2026. Its European order book for fully electric vehicles increased by more than 50% during the period. The company released those figures one day after presenting the restructuring plan. As of July 15, about 50,000 job reductions remain covered by existing agreements. Roughly 50,000 additional positions remain under assessment. Volkswagen has not published a final timetable, location list or implementation breakdown for those potential cuts.