Overview
- The supervisory board reportedly blocked Oliver Blume’s full ‘Zukunftsplan’ at a meeting on Thursday, leaving the package undeclared rather than approved and forcing management to rethink its approach.
- Blume has said he wants to avoid factory closures and will pursue alternative cost measures, pointing to recent factory cost cuts and strong early sales of the new ID Polo line as reasons to seek different options.
- Volkswagen’s works council says management withheld details from employees, its ultimatum to Blume expired and it has demanded that he answer workers’ questions in post‑summer assemblies to repair a serious loss of trust.
- The plan on the table would cut annual capacity to nine million vehicles by 2030, halve the model range outside China by 2035 and sharply reduce optional equipment, and media reports cite possible additional job losses ranging from tens of thousands up to 100,000–120,000.
- Regions and suppliers warn of heavy local harm if plants close, the Lower Saxony government opposed the package in the vote and formal negotiations between management, labour and political stakeholders are due to resume after the summer.