Volkswagen now wants to close four German factories, taking its total layoffs to almost 100,000

Volkswagen's first round of bad, expensive EVs with terrible usability and software are now coming back to bite the company. A few days ago we reported that CEO Oliver Blume had a plan to cut 50,000 jobs from the group, but apparently things might get even worse.

A new report today says the company is now considering closing four German factories, in Hanover, Zwickau, Emden, and Neckarsulm, laying off an additional 45,000 people and bringing the total to almost 100,000. To put that into perspective, the group's total workforce in 2025 was 667,164, with almost 43% employed in Germany.

If this pans out, it would be the largest restructuring in VW's history. The members of the company's supervisory board are expected to discuss the matter in a meeting on July 9.

VW also plans to cut its investment budget by 15% to just over $152 for the next five years. Blume and CFO Arno Antlitz are said to want to fundamentally change the company, including spinning off the VW brand and its parts operations into separate entities. Hopefully they also plan on making cars that people want to buy and can afford, but we'll have to wait and see about that.

Unsurprisingly, VW's works council and Germany's IG Metall union are not happy with these plans, and have vowed to fight them. In a joint statement, they said: "Should such plans go ahead, we would do everything in our power to prevent them".

Via