Volkswagen, 20,000 voluntary departures by 2030

Volkswagen's restructuring is proceeding in great strides. The German group has announced that around20,000 employees will voluntarily leave the group by 2030, as part of a plan to reorganise its German operations to tackle falling demand for cars. The announcement was made at a workers' assembly in Wolfsburg, where Gunnar Kilian, head of human resources and board member, confirmed that the transformation plan is proceeding on schedule: 'With measurable progress on production costs in Wolfsburg and socially responsible job cuts at Volkswagen's six German plants, we are accelerating our transformation,' said Kilian. 'Around 20,000 exits have already been contractually formalised with a 2030 horizon.

The Chief Financial Officer of the Volkswagen brand, David Powels, also spoke at the meeting and pointed out some structural criticalities: 'We are facing overinvestment, too low returns on electric vehicles and a break-even point that is still too high.

The carmaker's share closed the Frankfurt session down 0.87%, but maintains a positive balance of around 7% since the start of the year.

Europe's leading car manufacturer is reducing its production capacity and consequently its workforce in Germany, due to rising costs, sluggish domestic demand and increasing competitive pressure from Chinese manufacturers. Last December, VW's brand management and trade union representatives reached an agreement to reduce production capacity in Germany by more than 700,000 units and downsize the workforce by approximately 35,000 positions by the end of the decade. Other group brands such as Audi and Porsche are also moving in the same direction, making similar cuts to contain costs.

Restructuring also involves redesigning work organisation. The conversion of the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg to the exclusive production of electric vehicles, planned for 2027 onwards, could lead to the temporary introduction of the four-day working week, according to Daniela Cavallo, chairwoman of the works council, in a speech to employees.