Volkswagen Reportedly To Close Three German Plants And Cut Thousands Of Jobs

(RTTNews) – German carmaker Volkswagen is reportedly planning to close at least three factories in Germany, lay off thousands of workers and cut pay by 10%.

The closures and job cuts are a result of weak sales as well as slow growth in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, compounded by increasing competition from Chinese manufacturers

“The board wants to close at least three factories in Germany,” the works council chief, Daniela Cavallo, told employees at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg. Its remaining manufacturing sites will reduce capacity.

Volkswagen operates 10 plants and employs around 300,000 people across Germany. This would mark the first time the company has closed domestic plants.

The works council reported that the factory in the northern city of Osnabrück, which recently lost a significant contract with Porsche, is likely facing closure. This move is expected to lead to widespread layoffs across the workforce, potentially affecting tens of thousands of jobs, with entire divisions either shut down or relocated overseas.

“All German VW plants are affected by these plans,” Cavallo said. “None is safe.”

Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s works council, which represents the company’s employees and holds half of the seats on the supervisory board, has expressed strong opposition to the restructuring plans.

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