VW-Chef Oliver Blume baut insgesamt 100 000 Stellen ab: Die Börse freut es, doch viele Mitarbeiter müssen weiter bangen
Das amtierende Vorstandsteam des VW-Konzerns hat geschafft, was den Vorgängern oft misslungen ist: die sozialverträgliche Sanierung des verkrusteten Autobauers. Doch die Reise ist noch nicht zu Ende.
Volkswagen's Chief Executive Oliver Blume has managed to slash a total of 100,000 positions, a significant step in the company's restructuring efforts. However, the journey towards full recovery remains ongoing. Blume celebrated his fourth anniversary as CEO this week, but the real joy came Thursday night when the supervisory board approved key elements of his "Future Strategy 2030."
This was a major step in addressing Europe's largest automaker's problems, despite some decisions being delayed. Despite the successful reduction of 100,000 positions, Blume's challenge continues to grow. The company's sales in Europe have fallen short of pre-pandemic levels, with a shortfall of around 500,000 vehicles - equivalent to two factories.
Blume's approach to management has been a delicate balancing act, successfully reducing resistance from powerful unions while clearly communicating the dire situation at Volkswagen. He was tasked with making the company competitive at the outset and, a year later, mandated all brands to adopt a fitness program with concrete performance metrics. The core brand, VW, was expected to achieve an operational return of 6.3% despite being chronically inefficient and unprofitable for many years.
Despite economic support, the situation worsened due to the war in Ukraine, a decline in China's market, and internal errors. Europe's sales have not returned to pre-COVID levels, resulting in a loss of approximately 500,000 vehicles. In a remarkable turn of events, Blume managed to reduce another 50,000 positions just before Christmas 2024.
However, the fate of four German factories, which lack competitive output, remains uncertain. These factories may be repurposed internally or externally, but it is unclear. While the affected employees still have anxieties about their jobs, Blume faces further tough negotiations. The manager's marathon of restructuring is far from over, yet the goal of further 50,000 job cuts by 2030 is slowly coming into view.
Written by urgent.news from NZZ Wirtschaft's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
