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Leaked VW Plan Seeks Deep Cuts as Supervisory Board Prepares Decision

Approval would reshape VW through cuts to models, investments, jobs, plus a spin-out of operating units.

Overview

  • The confidential Beschlussvorlage was made public Thursday and sets new 2030 targets of a 9% operating margin and a €30.6 billion operating result.
  • The paper calls for roughly €50 billion in cuts to capital spending and R&D and for the company to halve its model range by 2035 while cutting product and technical complexity by about 75 percent.
  • Management documents warn of large personnel changes with around 47,200 job adjustments foreseen and up to about 60,000 when plant-related closures are counted, and an additional contingent of up to 50,000 global cuts if labour costs do not fall.
  • The proposal would reorganize the group by spinning operating activities into a Volkswagen Pkw AG and a Volkswagen Group Components AG while turning Volkswagen AG into a lean holding to give brands more autonomy.
  • Unions, politicians and some board members oppose the plan and the non-public supervisory-board meeting in Wolfsburg will decide whether to approve it or trigger escalation steps such as an extraordinary shareholders' meeting.