British media: The largest car manufacturer in Europe, Volkswagen Group, has announced that it will cut 50,000 jobs by the end of this decade, all concentrated in Germany. Previously, Volkswagen had reached an agreement with the union by the end of 2024, planning to cut 35,000 jobs by 2030. The new plan further expands on this.
Financially, Volkswagen's pre-tax profit dropped sharply by 54% to 8.9 billion euros (about 6.6 billion pounds), mainly due to the impact of U.S. tariffs and the high cost of Porsche's strategic transformation. Porsche's operating profit for 2025 almost fell to zero, plummeting 98% year-on-year to just 90 million euros, due to weak demand leading to a delay in its transition to electric vehicles.
Volkswagen is also facing multiple pressures: its market share in China is being eroded by local competitors, sales in North America are declining, Trump's tariffs have severely impacted profitability, long-term weakness in European demand, and lagging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said that the potential war between the U.S. and Iran may not directly affect the supply chain, but could impact the sales demand of high-end brands such as Audi and Porsche in the Middle East (a region with limited sales but higher profit margins). Blume also announced that the company will launch its "largest product offensive in history" in China to regain market share.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1859290049931271/
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