“The group needs a fundamental overhaul to remain competitive in the EV era,” the magazine reported, citing sources familiar with the plans being developed by Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume and Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz.
Core VW brand and parts business may be spun off into separate entities
The closures represent a stark reversal for Germany’s industrial heartland. Volkswagen has not closed a German plant in its modern history, and the move would mark the first major factory shutdowns by a German automaker since Opel’s Bochum plant closed in 2014.
Volkswagen separately plans to cut 19,000 jobs in Germany by the end of this year, with a binding target of more than 28,000 job cuts by 2030, the CEO has said.
2025 was a bad year for Europe’s largest automaker. Its sales were essentially flat, but profits were anything but, dropping 44 percent to just 6.9 billion euros ($7.9 billion) as operating margins more than halved. The red ink looks set to continue bleeding through 2026