Volkswagen to cut 50,000 jobs as profits drop

Mr Bump said:
VW finished in Germany
a few more years

www.bbc.co.uk

Volkswagen to cut 50,000 jobs as profits drop

Europe's largest carmaker said post-tax profits had dropped to their lowest level since 2016.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
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I feel like you forgot to post a smile emoji.

50,000 people losing their jobs over the next few years is awful for those individuals, especially in an industry that is constantly under attack by regulation.
 
I imagine that this will be happening all over Western Europe, as the modernisation of China proceeds.

Interestingly, British car makers seem to have retreated from the mass market but appear to be doing well in niche markets, if this Wikipedia page is accurate...

List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
woof woof said:
VW have made some bad decisions and it's the workers who lose their jobs in the thousands. This has been coming for a long time.
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labour costs in Germany are so high its scary ,

1773323845686.png
 
Mr Bump said:
labour costs in Germany are so high its scary ,
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That's true and I feel for those who've lost their jobs but while VW have tried to protect German jobs their decisions haven't helped.

Regarding the Chinese, as I've mentioned in a few threads after watching vids I'm worried about their cars over poor build and parts availability but a lot of people just see the shiny ads, the big shiny tablets on the dash and the cheap prices and buy anyway.
 
Box Brownie said:
It is interesting that the UK is equal to the EU average.
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we are but , we have the BREXIT issue which makes us more expensive due to labour laws being different.
The biggest issue for the Germans are the Unions that is what is killing there labour market.
 
woof woof said:
That's true and I feel for those who've lost their jobs but while VW have tried to protect German jobs their decisions haven't helped.

Regarding the Chinese, as I've mentioned in a few threads after watching vids I'm worried about their cars over poor build and parts availability but a lot of people just see the shiny ads, the big shiny tablets on the dash and the cheap prices and buy anyway.
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sadly its not VW's fault it's the labour unions forcing pension rises and pay rises despite the fact the market is collapsing.
As to Chinese vehicles i do agree but the future is EV and the Chinese are the masters of this.
Notice there are very few Chinese diesel cars driving about?
 
Mr Bump said:
we are but , we have the BREXIT issue which makes us more expensive due to labour laws being different.
The biggest issue for the Germans are the Unions that is what is killing there labour market.
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On a side note, the current short series by Katya Adler covered Germany and IIRC she included that, a tad to my surprise, their infrastructure e.g. bridges is way over due for replacements but the government have neglected the work for decades and there is simply not enough Federal funds to pay for all the work that actually needs to be done in a realistic timeframe!
 
Interestingly, it would appear that China's car export boom happened straight after COVID, whereas the other big exporters struggled.


1773344461286.png
 
VW have had their fingers burnt too many times; the emissions scandal, failed projects in Russia and China along with the Trump tariffs have broken the company. They have lost € billions in walking away from the Chinese market. Add to that the ridiculous energy costs in Germany and the crazy environmental restrictions brought in the keep the Greens on board in the coalition means a lot of Germany's industry is relocating abroad. BMW's EVs are all being made in Hungary. Also, the EUSSR's aggressive approach to Brexit has backfired in that their products are now more expensive than those from other countries.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them close the German factories and concentrate on the Spanish & Czech plants.
 
Mr Bump said:
sadly its not VW's fault it's the labour unions forcing pension rises and pay rises despite the fact the market is collapsing.
As to Chinese vehicles i do agree but the future is EV and the Chinese are the masters of this.
Notice there are very few Chinese diesel cars driving about?
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The thousands of workers being made redundant haven't set VW's policies over recent years so it seems a bit much to blame them and not the company.

I don't believe that EV's in their current form are the answer. The tech still isn't there, the charging infrastructure doesn't exist and nether does the generating capacity. I don't care how many Chinese diesels there are. At the moment I wouldn't put myself or anyone I care about in a Chinese car. Anyone wishing to see the tear downs and the issues can search for the vids. At the moment and with current Chinese build quality I'm just not interested as they seem to be thrown together by people not paid enough to care.
 
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woof woof said:
The thousands of workers being made redundant haven't set VW's policies over recent years so it seems a bit much to blame them and not the company.

I don't believe that EV's in their current form are the answer. The tech still isn't there, the charging infrastructure doesn't exist and nether does the generating capacity. I don't care how many Chinese diesels there are. At the moment I wouldn't put myself or anyone I care about in a Chinese car. Anyone wishing to see the tear downs and the issues can search for the vids. At the moment and with current Chinese build quality I'm just not interested as they seem to be thrown together by people not paid enough to care.
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It is ironic that he is blaming the unions for protecting their members and championing China with its horrendous human rights issues.

www.bluewin.ch

Slump in profits and job cuts at VW - but millions for former executives

The car manufacturer Volkswagen is under massive pressure. After a 44 percent drop in profits, the Group is planning to cut around 50,000 jobs in Germany - and is paying out high bonuses at the same time. How could the Group fall so low?
www.bluewin.ch www.bluewin.ch
 
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woof woof said:
The thousands of workers being made redundant haven't set VW's policies over recent years so it seems a bit much to blame them and not the company.

I don't believe that EV's in their current form are the answer. The tech still isn't there, the charging infrastructure doesn't exist and nether does the generating capacity. I don't care how many Chinese diesels there are. At the moment I wouldn't put myself or anyone I care about in a Chinese car. Anyone wishing to see the tear downs and the issues can search for the vids. At the moment and with current Chinese build quality I'm just not interested as they seem to be thrown together by people not paid enough to care.
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all of the above may be somewhat accurate but remember the UK is a tiny part of the puzzle for the Chinese .
the bottom line is they are just waiting in the wings for countries to fail their own auto industries like most in europe are
 
Clive K said:
VW have had their fingers burnt too many times; the emissions scandal, failed projects in Russia and China along with the Trump tariffs have broken the company. They have lost € billions in walking away from the Chinese market. Add to that the ridiculous energy costs in Germany and the crazy environmental restrictions brought in the keep the Greens on board in the coalition means a lot of Germany's industry is relocating abroad. BMW's EVs are all being made in Hungary. Also, the EUSSR's aggressive approach to Brexit has backfired in that their products are now more expensive than those from other countries.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them close the German factories and concentrate on the Spanish & Czech plants.
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VW didn't walk away from China they simply didn't have a product they could sell there?
BYD, GWM and 100s of other Chinese home markets brands can be bought far cheaper and comply with strict regulations.
VW just wanted to sell the same petrol powered overpriced cars there and the Chinese said no, just the same for Audi and Porch.
 
Mr Bump said:
VW didn't walk away from China they simply didn't have a product they could sell there?
BYD, GWM and 100s of other Chinese home markets brands can be bought far cheaper and comply with strict regulations.
VW just wanted to sell the same petrol powered overpriced cars there and the Chinese said no, just the same for Audi and Porch.
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And none of that is the fault of the VW production staff or their unions which is the point myself and woof woof have made.

You think that VW will be finished in three years? I expect them to outlive Teslar despite having been in the ICE car business for decades longer than Teslar.
 
Mr Bump said:
VW didn't walk away from China they simply didn't have a product they could sell there?
BYD, GWM and 100s of other Chinese home markets brands can be bought far cheaper and comply with strict regulations.
VW just wanted to sell the same petrol powered overpriced cars there and the Chinese said no, just the same for Audi and Porch.
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And none of that is the fault of the VW production staff or their unions as you claim and that is the point myself and woof woof have made.

Do you realise that Audi & Porsche are all part of VAG, Volkswagen Audi Group? A Porch is something completely different.

You think that VW will be finished in three years? I expect them to outlive Teslar despite having been in the car business for decades longer than them.
 
Mr Bump said:
sadly its not VW's fault it's the labour unions forcing pension rises and pay rises despite the fact the market is collapsing.
As to Chinese vehicles i do agree but the future is EV and the Chinese are the masters of this.
Notice there are very few Chinese diesel cars driving about?
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And thats why I think unions are so bad for a country - better to have 25,000 jobs with average pay/pension than 0 jobs with great pay/pension
 
cambsno said:
And thats why I think unions are so bad for a country - better to have 25,000 jobs with average pay/pension than 0 jobs with great pay/pension
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VW is on life.support.it.will be bankrupt within 2 years and will be bailed out by the state
 
Mr Bump said:
VW is on life.support.it.will be bankrupt within 2 years and will be bailed out by the state
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Life support? They made nearly €7billion net profit last financial year.
 
cambsno said:
And thats why I think unions are so bad for a country - better to have 25,000 jobs with average pay/pension than 0 jobs with great pay/pension
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Without unions there would be no minimum wage or company pension schemes that actually paid out. Coming from someone who ferociously defends the Labour Government and the European Union it looks a tad hypocritical if you ask me.
 
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Clive K said:
Without unions there would be no minimum wage or company pension schemes that actually paid out. Coming from someone who ferociously defends the Labour Government and the European Union it looks a tad hypocritical if you ask me.
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Completely agree as a former union member/factory worker without unions we wouldn’t have anything like the benefits that working people have now
 
Clive K said:
Without unions there would be no minimum wage or company pension schemes that actually paid out. Coming from someone who ferociously defends the Labour Government and the European Union it looks a tad hypocritical if you ask me.
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I dont ferociously defend either, I am critical of both but I base mine of fact.

Yes, I get that what's unions DID - and I have no issue with that. The issue I have is that they are could be willing to put jobs ahead of ideology. If a company cannot survive as it is, but can to a degree if a union adopts a softer stance, is that not a reasonable thing. The old 80% of something is better than 100% of nothing. Would I be happy with a 20% pay cut or loss of benefits - no, but would I prefer that to losing my job - of course. IMO unions do a decent job but can often go too far.
 
If VW can run the company with 50.000 less staff that must be a massive balls up by the management to be that much over staffed.
 
F1.2 said:
If VW can run the company with 50.000 less staff that must be a massive balls up by the management to be that much over staffed.
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My guess is that they might have tried to hang on to as many as possible whilst trying to recover lost sales, rather than lose trained employees and then try and re-employ them?

I'm sure Trump's recent tariffs probably didn't help either. There's also the potential of more investment in automation.
 
The big question, which occurs to me is: are we looking at the start of a recurrence of 1923?
 
F1.2 said:
If VW can run the company with 50.000 less staff that must be a massive balls up by the management to be that much over staffed.
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Key Production Shifts & Restructuring (as of early 2026):
  • Mexico Shift: The iconic Golf hatchback and estate production will move to Puebla, Mexico starting in 2027 to lower costs.
  • German Reductions: High manufacturing costs and reduced demand have led to pausing production lines at Emden (ID.4/ID.7) and Zwickau (Q4 e-tron).
  • Dresden Closure: The "Transparent Factory" in Dresden is scheduled to cease vehicle production in December 2025, turning into a tech hub.
  • Regional Reorganization: VW is grouping 22 plants into regional, cross-brand clusters (beginning in the Iberian Peninsula) to cut expenses, with projects shifting toward, Spain, and Portugal


Drivers Behind the Moves:
  • Financial Pressures: High labor costs in Germany, over 200 billion in debt, and a ~53% drop in 2025 operating profit from 2024 levels.
  • Competition: Intense competition from Chinese automakers and high tariffs, causing lower-than-expected sales.
  • Inefficiency: German factories have been operating at 40-50% capacity, making them inefficient compared to other sites.
 
They once were one of the top and reasonably affordable. Now they are neither. China is shipping better and better models and control and develop new tech such as batteries. European manufacturers are multiple battery generations behind. Labour costs are just a cherry on top. Apparently they cant even write their own software
 
The reasons for German companies outsourcing abroad is as I wrote earlier; high energy costs and restrictive green policies being a big driver. Production of electric vehicles isn't the same as producing ice vehicles so if they have to build new factories they can locate them where the costs are lower or subsidies are greater. BMW have outsourced all their ev production to Hungary. VW are in a better situation than other German and French manufacturers as they are already well established in Spain and the Czech Republic as well as outside Europe. They are still making net profits of around €7 billion and have a strong brand image. Unlike Teslar they also have new models under development.

When Mr Bump says that German labour costs are too hgh you only have to look at the figures that he posted to see that they are barely higher than the EU average. Then, factor in that Germany is an engineering nation, not agricultural and it is not surprising to see that they aren't at the bottom of the table. The high standard of living might cost manufacture, but it also boosts sales in the home market.
 
cambsno said:
I dont ferociously defend either, I am critical of both but I base mine of fact.

Yes, I get that what's unions DID - and I have no issue with that. The issue I have is that they are could be willing to put jobs ahead of ideology. If a company cannot survive as it is, but can to a degree if a union adopts a softer stance, is that not a reasonable thing. The old 80% of something is better than 100% of nothing. Would I be happy with a 20% pay cut or loss of benefits - no, but would I prefer that to losing my job - of course. IMO unions do a decent job but can often go too far.
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You are always defending that bastion of socialism ; Sir Keir Starmer. Like Bliar before him he puts the demands of the Confederation of British Industry above the trade unions who represent the people who voted for him. If the management cock up why should the workers take less? The directors and management won't be taking pay cuts.

It must be nice to be a champagne socialist like Mandelson and Bliar. Those pretending to care about poor people whilst being employed in middle management recruiting poor people to work for as little as they will accept so as to pay the shareholder's dividends. And complaining when their cleaner or gardener ask for a bit more money.
 
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