Volkswagen’s supervisory board has approved a major overhaul aimed at cutting 100,000 jobs by 2030 as the German carmaker battles weaker sales, falling profits and intensifying global competition.
Volkswagen employed more than 660,000 people worldwide in 2025. The latest cuts come on top of 50,000 job reductions announced in March, taking the total number of positions targeted for elimination to 100,000 by 2030.
Christianne Benner, deputy chair of Volkswagen’s supervisory board, said the company had worked hard to find solutions during a “crisis situation”.
The overhaul, dubbed “Future Plan 2030”, comes as Volkswagen grapples with falling profits, weaker sales and growing competition, particularly in China, once one of its biggest markets.
Sales have also declined in the U.S., partly due to tariffs on car imports introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Under the plan, Volkswagen aims to halve the number of models it produces by 2035 and reduce model complexity by 75 per cent. It will focus on its most popular vehicles in an effort to cut costs.
Volkswagen aims to sell nine million vehicles annually and achieve an operating margin of 9 per cent by 2030, up from 3.8 per cent in the first half of 2026.
The plan includes $157 billion in capital expenditure and research and development investment between 2027 and 2031.
The strategy comes as Chinese carmakers rapidly expand, benefiting from lower production costs and new technologies and increasing pressure on established manufacturers.
Volkswagen plans to focus on its most profitable segments in North America, adapt to weaker growth expectations in China and expand exports to the Global South in a bid to bolster its position in an increasingly competitive global car market.
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