Volkswagen’s chief executive Oliver Blume is due to lay out a major restructuring programme at the automaker’s supervisory board meeting on Thursday, company sources say.
The package is expected to encompass a series of cost and capacity measures, including reductions in headcount, the closure or phase-out of several plants, cuts to planned investment spending and an overhaul of parts of the group’s organizational structure.
A report published on June 26 by Manager Magazine set out a possible scale for the measures under consideration: as many as 100,000 job cuts, the closure of four production facilities, a reduction in the group’s planned investment to 230 billion, and the separation of the VW brand from the wider group. Those figures were cited by the report and reflect the scope of options that management may present to the supervisory board.
The four plants identified in the report employ about 43,000 workers and together represent roughly 750,000 units of annual production capacity. Separately, Volkswagen had previously discussed steps that would reduce capacity by approximately 1 million units, indicating the company is weighing significant adjustments to output levels.
Responses from key stakeholders have already emerged. The state of Lower Saxony and the company works council have voiced opposition to plant closures and broad-based job reductions. The article notes that earlier management teams retreated from similar proposals in the past after resistance from labour representatives and regional political actors.
On the funding side, Volkswagen completed a transaction involving Everllence that produced larger-than-expected proceeds. Barclays analysts flagged that those proceeds could be used to finance the planned reductions in capacity and headcount, helping to underwrite any short-term costs associated with restructuring.
Volkswagen is due to host an investor and analyst call ahead of publishing its first-half results on July 13. Barclays estimates that the company currently trades at a 3.5 times price-to-earnings ratio for the 2026/27 period.
Context limitations: This article reflects the measures and figures as reported and as expected to be presented to the supervisory board. It does not add or infer outcomes beyond what was stated in those reports and company communications.