VW could close up to four German factories and cut jobs

Volkswagen Group is considering closing up to four factories in Germany and instituting layoffs that would shrink the workforce by 15 percent. 2025 was a bad year: sales were essentially flat, while profits dropped 44 percent to 6.9 billion euros ($7.9 billion) as operating margins more than halved.

The red ink looks set to continue into 2026. In March the company announced it would cut 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030, and a recent report says those job losses may double. The automaker did well selling EVs in Europe last year, but sales in North America and China fell and continue to fall, and tariffs have had a significant effect.

In April VW Group CFO and COO Arno Arnitz told investors that the company’s operating margin was “far too low” and that it would have to fundamentally transform its business model to cut costs and increase efficiency without tanking quality.

Germany

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