Volkswagen Group’s reported restructuring plans are expected to reach a pivotal moment Thursday as the company’s Supervisory Board meets to discuss what has been described as a long-term strategy for reshaping Europe’s largest automaker.
While Volkswagen has not confirmed the details of the reported plan, recent German media reports have suggested the company is evaluating measures that could ultimately eliminate as many as 100,000 positions worldwide by 2030 while reviewing the future roles of several German manufacturing sites, including Audi’s Neckarsulm facility. Reports have also indicated that any broad strategy approved by the Supervisory Board would later be followed by negotiations with the individual Volkswagen Group brands regarding implementation.
According to local newspaper Heilbronner Stimme, anticipation surrounding Thursday’s meeting has prompted employee representatives in Neckarsulm to organize several demonstrations of support for Audi’s historic Neckarsulm facility. One source familiar with Audi’s supervisory board told Stimme that cost reductions are widely expected, though the eventual impact on each brand would still be subject to subsequent discussions.
The reports follow recent claims by Manager Magazin that Volkswagen is evaluating a sweeping restructuring program through the end of the decade that could eliminate as many as 100,000 positions across the Group while reviewing the long-term role of several manufacturing sites. Volkswagen has not publicly confirmed those reported proposals.
NECKARSULM AUDI EMPLOYEE REACTION
At Audi’s Neckarsulm plant, employee representatives are continuing efforts to demonstrate support for the facility ahead of Thursday’s meeting. The works council has begun distributing postcards featuring an aerial photograph of the Neckarsulm campus under the message, “Because the future is important to us.” Employees are being invited to write personal messages to Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume before the cards are collected and delivered to Group management.
The reverse side of the postcard also carries a reminder of one of the site’s defining moments in its history: a photograph of a campaign button reading “Audi Neckarsulm must stay.” The image recalls the large public demonstrations held in 1975 after plans were announced to close the former NSU plant, a campaign that ultimately helped preserve what has since become one of Audi’s most important manufacturing and engineering centers.
Employee representatives have also called for a demonstration outside the Neckarsulm plant Thursday afternoon, where Audi Deputy Works Council Chairman Robin Lörcher is expected to address employees. Similar demonstrations are reportedly being organized at other Volkswagen Group facilities across Germany to coincide with the Supervisory Board meeting.
Whether Thursday produces definitive answers remains to be seen. Even if Volkswagen outlines a broader direction for the Group, discussions surrounding individual brands and production sites are expected to continue. For Audi employees in Neckarsulm, however, the meeting represents another significant milestone in a period of heightened uncertainty as the company and the wider Volkswagen Group chart their course through the remainder of the decade.