Overview
- The supervisory board reportedly voted down CEO Oliver Blume’s wider “Zukunftsplan” at a Thursday meeting after employee representatives and the state of Lower Saxony opposed the package.
- Blume told Bild he wants to avoid factory closures and pointed to about 20 percent cuts in German factory costs and strong early sales of the ID. Polo as reasons to seek alternatives.
- The Volkswagen works council said management briefed executives but withheld details from the wider workforce, issued Blume an ultimatum and ordered that he address employees directly after the summer break.
- Media reports that up to about 100,000–120,000 jobs could be cut and that four German plants (Zwickau, Emden, Hannover, Neckarsulm) are at risk remain unconfirmed; the plan would cut capacity toward nine million cars a year by 2030, halve model ranges outside China by 2035 and trim roughly 5,000 management posts by 2030.
- Political leaders and thousands of suppliers warn that any site changes would hit regional economies and supply chains, so final decisions will hinge on further talks and supervisory-board approval.