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VW under pressure: Massive production cuts threaten jobs!
Volkswagen plans significant production cuts at Wolfsburg and other plants by 2030 to address internal challenges.
VW under pressure: Massive production cuts threaten jobs!
The German automotive industry is facing a huge upheaval, and Volkswagen is in the front row. From December 2024, the group plans to significantly reduce production capacity in several of its plants. According to news38.de, the austerity plan includes drastic measures in response to internal challenges that cannot be ignored.
Overall, noticeable cuts are to be expected. The Wolfsburg plant, which currently has a maximum production capacity of 800,000 vehicles, will be cut by an impressive 500,000 units. While only 523,000 cars were produced in 2024, an uncertain future looms. Capacity in Zwickau will also be reduced by 170,000 units - a major adjustment that affects the planned production of 204,000 vehicles in 2024. What is particularly interesting is that only the Audi Q4 will be manufactured in Zwickau in the future, which signals a clear change in focus.
What's next for the locations?
Several plants are affected by the cuts. Production in Osnabrück will be reduced by 56,000 units, with the location also in jeopardy in the future. This raises the question of a possible takeover by Rheinmetall. The fate of the Transparent Factory in Dresden is also uncertain, as its technical capacity is to be reduced by 8,000 units. Here too, the strained production with only 5,500 vehicles manufactured in 2024 is worrying.
But it's not just in production that the signs point to a storm. The car manufacturers plan to reduce the number of employees in Germany by around 35,000 by 2030. This not only affects the temporary workers who particularly suffered from the austerity measures, but could also result in redundancies for operational reasons. The VW works council warns that plant closures are no longer ruled out - a drastic change that was previously considered taboo. [sueddeutsche.de].
The economic situation and its consequences
Volkswagen is pursuing long-term savings goals and plans to save a total of two billion euros by 2026. CEO Oliver Blume highlights the serious situation in the European automotive industry, which is increasingly endangering the German location. There is also talk that Golf production will be relocated to Mexico, which should happen by the end of 2026. Around 250,000 Golf models are currently manufactured in Wolfsburg every year.
The tension across the industry is palpable and simple austerity measures are seen as insufficient. Almost all German locations have to expect cuts, which brings the unions into action. Agreement talks between the Volkswagen Group and the unions are planned for December 2024. It is clear that there is something going on here, and the coming months will have far-reaching consequences for employees and the industry as a whole.