Volkswagen admits cutting 50,000 jobs worldwide

In an internal statement, to which the weekly magazine Der Spiegel had access, Blume highlighted that the reduction in staff will be necessary to "reduce administrative, infrastructure and support costs for the main activity to a competitive level."

According to the CEO, these costs in the Volkswagen group are 20% higher than the average for comparable companies in the sector, reported the German publication.

"A theoretical estimate, without changes in labor costs, would point to an adjustment of around 50,000 jobs worldwide," said Blume.

These 50,000 cuts would be in addition to the other 50,000 jobs that Volkswagen had already announced it would eliminate in Germany by 2030, 35,000 of which in the Volkswagen brand and the rest distributed among brands such as Porsche and Audi.

The group, which employs around 660,000 people worldwide, announced on Thursday that it will reduce its production capacity to nine million vehicles per year, with the aim of adapting to the global market scenario and increased competition.

Despite the announcement, Volkswagen did not disclose details about possible layoffs or factory closures.

Last month, Manager Magazin estimated that the company could cut up to 100,000 jobs worldwide and close four factories in Germany.

Strong drop in profit

In the first quarter of this year, Volkswagen recorded a net profit of 1.29 billion euros, a 29% drop compared to the same period last year, mainly due to reduced sales in China and the United States.

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