In an emailed statement to POLITICO, VW said it would “not comment on internal, confidential documents,” but added that “the entire Group — including its brands and subsidiaries — must undergo a profound transformation. To this end, the Group Executive Board has been working intensively over the past few months on a strategic plan for the company’s restructuring.”
VW has been squeezed by declining demand from China, tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and a difficult transition to electric vehicles.
The company’s struggles mirror challenges faced by many of Germany’s industrial giants. Bosch announced 20,000 job cuts in January, and Mercedes-Benz is offering severance packages to around 40,000 employees as part of a cost-cutting effort. A 2025 study conducted for the German Ministry for Economic Affairs estimated that about 90,000 jobs in the German auto sector would disappear by 2030.
In response to the media report, representatives of VW’s works council and the German Metalworkers’ Union said Friday that “should such plans be pursued, we would do everything in our power to prevent them.”
Minister President of Lower Saxony Olaf Lies and Deputy Minister President of Lower Saxony Julia Willie Hamburg also said the state — which is the second-largest shareholder of VW — “will not approve any plan that relies on plant closures as a supposedly simple solution or that calls into question the proven system of co-determination.”
This story has been updated.