- Volkswagen expects to spend around 16 billion euros (US$18.6 billion) on job cuts and potential factory closures under a sweeping restructuring plan agreed last week
- The German automaker, Europe’s largest, is undertaking the biggest restructuring in its history as it faces competition from China, tariffs and excess production capacity
- The plan includes considering alternatives for four German plants that are expected to run out of models during the next decade
BERLIN, Germany: Volkswagen expects to spend around 16 billion euros (US$18.6 billion) on job cuts and potential factory closures under a sweeping restructuring plan agreed last week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The German automaker, Europe’s largest, is undertaking the biggest restructuring in its history as it faces competition from China, tariffs and excess production capacity.
The plan includes considering alternatives for four German plants that are expected to run out of models during the next decade. Volkswagen also plans to cut around 50,000 more jobs than previously planned.
Around 10 billion euros of the estimated restructuring costs would be set aside for cutting as many as 60,000 jobs worldwide, the person familiar with the matter said.
Potentially phasing out production at Volkswagen’s Emden and Zwickau plants would cost about one billion euros each, according to the source.
The company estimates costs of around two billion euros each for the Neckarsulm and Hanover plants.
A Volkswagen spokesperson declined to comment on the estimated costs, which were first reported by German magazine Der Spiegel.
