50,000 employees at risk: Auto giant announces massive job cuts as executives collect multimillion-euro bonuses
Volkswagen is preparing its biggest job cuts in a decade after net profit fell to 6.9 billion euros. Unions are unhappy with management's multimillion-dollar bonuses, while thousands of workers risk losing their jobs.
Volkswagen car factory PHOTO: archive, the truth
The Volkswagen Group ended 2025 with the worst financial result in the last decade, with net profit falling by 44% to 6.9 billion euros. The situation prompted the company to announce 50,000 job cuts in Germany by 2030, a significant increase from the 35,000 already agreed with unions at the end of last year, according to euronews.
Group revenues were almost unchanged at €322 billion, but operating profit fell to €8.9 billion, half of what it was in 2024.
CFO Arno Antlitz cited “geopolitical tensions, trade barriers and intense competition, especially from China”.
Although Volkswagen saw growth in Europe, declining sales in China and the US severely hurt results. The group delivered 8.98 million vehicles worldwide, down 0.5%. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have reduced demand in the US, and legislative changes and withdrawal of subsidies have affected the electric vehicle market.
In China, competition from local manufacturers such as BYD, Geely and Nio has eroded Volkswagen's technological advantage. The group announced a strategy “in China, for China”, with local development and supply chains.
According to the source cited, the sports car brand has seen a steep decline in sales in China and borne the costs of a strategic shift: returning to combustion engines after a period of prioritizing electric vehicles.
Porsche's operating profit has collapsed from 5.3 billion euros in 2024 to just 90 million euros in 2025.
Volkswagen executives win, employees lose
Despite the poor results, board members receive bonuses of millions of euros, driven by net cash flow, which reached 6.4 billion euros.
Bonuses total 13.6 million euros, with CEO Oliver Blume taking home 7.4 million euros, slightly less than in 2024. Unions are demanding that employees also benefit from the strong cash flow.
The Volkswagen Group forecasts a recovery in 2026, with an operating margin between 4.0 and 5.5%, after falling to 2.8% in 2025.
In the last quarter of last year, the company's activity registered a slight stabilization, after a loss of more than 1 billion euros in the third quarter caused by special costs at Porsche.
