VW plans massive job cuts: 35,000 jobs by 2030 in danger!

VW plans massive job cuts: 35,000 jobs by 2030 in danger!

What is going on at Volkswagen? This question moves numerous employees after the autoße has announced that up to 35,000 jobs in Germany are to be dismantled by the end of 2030. In an internal communication, HR board gave Gunnar Kilian insights into the planned measures and made it clear that around 20,000 are already contractually secured by the bodies to be removed. Much of this mining is done by partial retirement (ATZ), so that over 14,000 employees should leave the company on this way. This information has published News38

The plan stipulates that almost 5,000 employees regularly retire. Around 1,300 people have already accepted severance payments. Kilian's statements illustrate that Volkswagen endeavors to make this staff reduction socially acceptable. The funding through voluntary solutions is intended to avoid termination and secure the existing jobs.

A look at the details

The dismantling plan mainly affects West German locations, whereby the East German works in Saxony and Osnabrück do not flow into the mining numbers. Volkswagen currently employs around 130,000 people in Germany, which means that about a quarter of all places will be affected in this breakdown. According to n-tv , many of the already forecast are also bound to the regular retirement age.

The severance payment program is currently focusing on employees in the indirect area such as administration and development. An expansion to production employees is on the agenda at the earliest for summer 2026. This not only aims to reduce jobs, but also a sustainable realignment, while the company continues to feel high investment pressure on electric cars. There are voices that warn that the future utilization of the Wolfsburg main plant could come under pressure, for example, since the production of the Golf is to be moved to Mexico from 2027.

A new course for Volkswagen

The challenges in front of which Volkswagen is facing are diverse. Brand Finance board member David Powels emphasized that a lot of work still has to be invested in the savings plan. The profits have to be increased, especially since the new e-models take longer to reach the profit threshold. Special shifts have already been driven in the main plant to meet the high demand for combustion models such as the Golf and the Tiguan. But the future looks different. Council headquarters Daniela Cavallo warned that the sales figure of the Golf could continue to decrease and that planning for future production capacities can be difficult.

The coming years promise change and challenges for the workforce at Volkswagen. With a clear goal, namely to establish the company competitive and sustainable by 2029, it remains to be seen how these measures will ultimately affect employees and corporate culture. According to Süddeutsche , the implementation of the austerity course will be decisive for the further development of the company.