Volkswagen still faces talks over 25,000 planned German job cuts and threatened plants despite backing for its turnaround. The board meets Friday on restructuring and US strategy; unions are due to discuss concerns over a possible breach of a 2024 labour deal on September 30.
IG Metall is bound by a strike truce until January 1, 2027, so it is seeking other ways to pressure management. The 2024 agreement ushered in 35,000 layoffs in Germany in exchange for job guarantees through the end of the decade and investment in plants now at risk. Unions want the 25,000 planned German cuts treated as a starting point for negotiations focused on costs, not a fixed layoff target.
Volkswagen plans to draw up a European production plan by end-June 2027 and intends to remove more than 500,000 vehicles’ worth of capacity amid persistently low demand. Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm are scheduled for staggered closure from 2031 to 2034; possible responses include shifts to defence work or Chinese partnerships, but no concrete plans have emerged. The board is also weighing an Audi US plant and a shift toward pickups and large SUVs. In China, VW has reduced its workforce from 90,000 to 70,000, with further cuts expected; Chinese production faces capacity reductions of 500,000 vehicles.
