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Oliver Blume is battling to streamline Europe’s biggest carmaker, whose profits have slumped as its faces billions of euros in tariff costs, stiff competition in China and pressure on its German manufacturing network to become more efficient.
After already agreeing to 50,000 job cuts across the group, including its Porsche and Audi subsidiaries, the company must further reduce costs, having calculated a 20% cost disadvantage relative to comparable companies, Blume said in the memo seen by Reuters.
This means a “theoretical deduction” of another 50,000 jobs worldwide, the memo said.
“We are currently assessing across all brands, companies and regions how many adjustments are actually necessary and feasible,” Blume said in the document.
The company had previously declined to comment on reports it was considering up to 100,000 job losses.
The memo follows angry calls from workers for management to explain its restructuring plans, which Blume presented to the company’s supervisory board on Thursday.
familiar with the matter said labour representatives on the committee blocked the proposals, which were said to include job cuts and the possible closure of four factories.
“As of today, we still cannot confirm competitive use cases for the plants of Emden, Hanover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm in the 2030s,” Blume said in the memo.
He said he preferred “intelligent solutions” to closures, having previously pointed to the defence industry or the production of Chinese Volkswagen models in Europe as options for underutilised factories.
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