According to a report by the usually well-informed Manager Magazin, Volkswagen is considering a far more extensive restructuring program than previously reported. The German business magazine claims the company is planning to close its plants in Hanover, Zwickau, and Emden, as well as Audi’s factory in Neckarsulm. The report also states that Volkswagen could cut up to 100,000 jobs worldwide.
Manager Magazin also reports that Volkswagen plans to cut up to 100,000 of its 657,000 jobs worldwide over the coming years. Previous reports had focused on 38,000 to 50,000 job cuts in Germany. The business magazine claims the restructuring program could also include the closure of the four plants mentioned above. It further reports that Volkswagen is considering spinning off the Volkswagen passenger-car brand as a separate entity.
‘Group Target Picture’
Manager Magazin says the plans are based on a strategy presentation that Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume reportedly presented to senior executives at the latest board meeting on Wednesday, titled “Group Target Picture” for 2030.
The magazine states that it did not obtain the presentation itself but based its report on information provided by insiders familiar with its contents. However, NDR, the regional TV and radio station, later stated that it is in possession of the relevant plans drawn up by the Executive Board.
If implemented, the plans would effectively transform Volkswagen AG into a new company, according to Manager Magazin. The report claims the restructuring would eliminate around one-seventh of the group’s global workforce, open the company further to capital markets, and significantly reduce employee influence.
Still very speculative
The reported plans remain speculative, as the underlying strategy document has not been made public and remains an internal presentation. According to Manager Magazin, Blume is expected to present the restructuring program to the supervisory board on 9 July. Any such plans would undoubtedly face very strong opposition from Volkswagen’s influential works council.
Manager Magazin also reports that Volkswagen had already identified its plants in Hanover, Zwickau, and Emden, along with Audi’s factory in Neckarsulm, as candidates for closure during a supervisory board meeting in April due to their high costs.
The magazine now says that the board is prepared to phase out all four sites over the medium term by continuing production only for the current model generation. According to insiders cited by the publication, production would then end, with successor models either canceled or transferred to lower-cost manufacturing locations.
Significant impact
The reported closures would have a significant impact. The four plants employ around 40,000 people and have a combined annual production capacity of approximately 750,000 vehicles. Manager Magazin reports that production at the sites is not expected to end until after 2030, unless CEO Oliver Blume decides to discontinue the affected models earlier. However, such a move is not currently planned.
Two of the sites, Zwickau and Emden, are dedicated battery-electric vehicle production plants. Zwickau builds the VW ID.3, VW ID.4, VW ID.5, the Cupra Born, and the Audi Q4 e-tron. Emden manufactures the VW ID.4, VW ID.7, and VW ID.7 Tourer. Volkswagen has already reduced production capacity at both plants from two assembly lines to one, each operating two shifts, in response to overcapacity.
The Hanover plant serves as the headquarters of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and manufactures the all-electric ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo, alongside the T-series models, including the Multivan and Transporter. The site also operates a battery assembly line.
The Audi plant in Neckarsulm primarily builds combustion-engine and hybrid models, while the nearby Böllinger Höfe facility produces the all-electric Audi e-tron GT. Audi previously closed its Brussels plant in February 2025.
Structural overhaul
According to Manager Magazin, the proposed restructuring rests on a third pillar alongside job cuts and plant closures: a fundamental overhaul of the group’s structure. The magazine reports that Volkswagen plans to spin off both the core Volkswagen passenger car brand and the group’s Components division into separate entities. According to the report, this would make it easier for businesses to list on the capital market. Further details of the proposal have not yet emerged.
The reported plans would mark a significant escalation of Volkswagen Group’s existing restructuring program. Under CEO Oliver Blume, the company has pursued a strict cost-cutting strategy over the past two years, targeting savings of 15 billion euros in 2024 and 18 billion euros in 2025.
The program is based on an agreement reached between group management and the works council at the end of 2024, which initially provided for around 38,000 job cuts by 2030. The planned reduction later increased to 50,000 positions across the group, mainly following additional cost-cutting measures announced at Audi, Porsche, and the software subsidiary Cariad.
Workers react
In response, the powerful IG Metall union has now also issued a statement. It criticized the uncertainty triggered by the Manager Magazin report. In a joint statement, IG Metall Chair Christiane Benner, Volkswagen Group Works Council Chair Daniela Cavallo, and IG Metall District Manager Thorsten Gröger, who is responsible for Volkswagen’s collective bargaining agreement, said: “The latest media reports are understandably causing uncertainty among our workforce and in the regions where our sites are located. But attacks on the Volkswagen Act, co-determination, and our sites are irresponsible threats. Should such plans be pursued, we will oppose them with all the means at our disposal.”
They further argue that a different issue is far more important: “Instead of engaging in blind activism, the Management Board should finally do its job and focus on its core responsibilities: competitive products, technologies, Group structures and synergies, and therefore secure employment.”
