This massive downsizing effort is set to also sweep across the Volkswagen subsidiaries like Audi and Porsche.
The Volkswagen Group has recently revealed plans to cut around 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030, as Europe’s largest automaker grapples with sharply declining profits and an increasingly challenging global business environment. The sweeping restructuring programme is said to affect operations across its home base, and is set to include key subsidiaries such as Audi and Porsche, as the German giant attempts to restore profitability amid falling demand, rising competition and mounting costs linked to its transition to electrification.
This massive downsizing announcement came as the group published its latest annual financial results, revealing that earnings after tax fell roughly 44% in 2025 to €6.9 billion (RM 31.47 billion), marking the company’s lowest profit level since 2016. Executives attributed the steep decline to a combination of factors including higher restructuring expenses, sluggish global demand and the growing financial burden of developing next-generation electric vehicles and software platforms.
According to chief executive Oliver Blume, the planned job cuts form part of a broader cost-saving initiative aimed at streamlining the company’s operations and safeguarding long-term competitiveness, with the latest announcement effectively expanding its pre-existing restructuring effort across the wider organisation, which includes its premium brands and software division. The group had previously agreed with German trade unions in late 2024 to eliminate around 35,000 jobs through measures such as retirement and voluntary departures, with the aim of saving roughly €15 billion (RM68.42 billion) annually by the end of the decade.
The financial pressure facing Volkswagen has been exacerbated by developments in several of its key markets. Once the group’s most profitable region, China has become increasingly difficult terrain as local manufacturers rapidly gain ground. Domestic brands such as BYD and Geely have surged ahead in sales, leaving the German giant struggling to maintain its long-standing dominance in the world’s largest car market.
At the same time, trade tensions have further complicated matters too. The imposition of a 25% tariff on imported vehicles by Donald Trump has placed additional pressure on European manufacturers exporting to the United States, forcing companies such as Volkswagen to absorb higher costs or risk losing competitiveness in one of their most lucrative markets.
These external challenges arrive as the company continues to pour billions into electrification, software development and new digital platforms, investments that have yet to fully pay off amid slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles in some regions. Even within the group’s premium divisions, profitability has taken a hit. Porsche, for instance, reportedly saw operating profits collapse dramatically in 2025 as it recalibrated its electrification strategy following weaker EV demand than initially anticipated.
Chief financial officer Arno Antlitz warned that the group’s current profit margins are “not sufficient in the long run,” stressing that rigorous cost control and operational simplification will be crucial over the coming years. Volkswagen is targeting a core profit margin of between 4% and 5.5% for 2026, though even that range remains relatively modest compared with the company’s historical performance.
Incidentally, all these downsizing developments also come as Volkswagen has begun revealing the first teasers of its upcoming Mk9 Volkswagen Golf. This latest iteration of the ever-popular hatchback will all but likely gain an “ID.” suffix, indicating its fully electric nature.
In fact, the Mk9 Golf is set to ride on Volkswagen’s new Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), which will feature zonal electronic architecture and next-generation software developed in partnership with Rivian. Both single- and dual-motor configurations are expected to be offered, with the latter likely reserved for performance variants such as the GTI and R.
While there is still no confirmed timeline for its debut, current reports suggest the fully electric Mk9 Golf could arrive around 2029. When it does eventually appear, it is expected to be sold alongside the current Mk8.5 generation, which will continue serving as the internal combustion engine alternative.
And speaking of the Mk8.5 Golf, the latest facelift has also recently landed in Malaysia. It arrives in the familiar hot GTI and R variants, though the lineup has also been expanded with the return of the more accessible mild-hybrid R-Line variant for buyers seeking a less hardcore take on Volkswagen’s evergreen hatchback.
