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VW job-cut push. Trimming numbers under intense heat.

  • Writer: Matthias Schmidt
    Matthias Schmidt
  • 5 minutes ago
  • 2 min read

VW Note on Manager Magazin story: 26.06.2026

Foggy industrial Wolfsburg Volkswagen production plant with VW logo and tall smokestacks beside a canal, with a white boat in the foreground.

Manager Magazin's reported 100,000 cull of VW Group jobs, would double the original plan to slash 50,000 jobs across the Group by 2030, which have been primarily driven through voluntary and early retirement programs up to now, with more than half of the planned departures already signed. 

The expansion of planned job cuts however are part of the new reality linked to intense competition from China, with Chinese OEMs now dominating their domestic market, which was previously a cash cow for the company and helped paper over the cracks in the European business. Meanwhile, Chinese models are becoming an ever more clear and present danger in Europe, now surpassing 10% of the European market, according to our data for individual months this year, although we see the market partly front-loaded with Chinese looking to increase deliveries prior to the likelihood of more tariffs for non-BEVs expected to be implemented later this summer.   



Two-panel auto market charts show Chinese brands’ share rising from near 0% while European brands decline; 2019-2026 data.

As a result, production capacity will no longer return to pre-COVID levels, so adjustments are needed across Europe. 


The VW Group has suffered from years of neglect in readjusting workforce numbers due to the stranglehold the regional government and trade unions have on the company. The market reality is hitting the German giant hardest. 


Alongside the China impact, the shift to electric vehicles and a more automated production process, linked partly to fewer components and more outsourcing (battery know-how still coming from China despite local highly automated cell manufacturing starting from 2026 in Germany), are also leading to cuts, while the inherently margin-dilutive nature of BEVs means costs need to be made to bring the profitability trajectory upwards to compensate. 


Finally, technological advancements, including AI, are partly replacing jobs. A mega-trend we are seeing which is only set to accelerate as auto production plants start to introduce the next stage of robotics into the production process.  


The partly-positive stock reaction suggests markets are partly happy that VW finally appears to be turning a corner and is leveraging the current macro climate to become more agile, with a plan to increase profitability going forward. 



This includes extracts from one of our full studies which are available below. To discover more about out studies just contact us



Scope: Western Europe's 18 Markets: EU Member States prior to the 2004 enlargement, plus EFTA markets Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, plus UK – accounting for 90% of the enlarged European region.

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