Volkswagen CEO faces angry workers in push for radical cuts

On Tuesday, more than 10,000 Volkswagen employees convened at the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg for a meeting with CEO Oliver Blume. Blume urged the workforce to unite behind his restructuring plan, which could result in up to 50,000 job losses. The crowd booed Blume as he addressed them, with some workers expressing their discontent through banners and signs.

Labor leaders, however, cautioned that trust in management had been compromised. Blume's proposals, which would double current restructuring efforts, have yet to gain approval from the supervisory board, where the labor side and the state of Lower Saxony hold significant sway. The meeting was not open to the press, and attendees expressed their views through social media.

Volkswagen faces challenges from aggressive Chinese competitors, falling profits in China, and U.S. tariff costs, all while contending with declining profits and excessive capacity in Europe. Blume stressed that the job cuts were based on a theoretical benchmark to align costs with competitors and emphasized that factory closures were a last resort.