VW faces challenges: profits are falling drastically, job cuts are planned!

VW faces challenges: profits are falling drastically, job cuts are planned!

Shocking news from the Volkswagen Group! The automobile giant suffered a profit slump of almost 31 percent last year. The company only earned 12.4 billion euros, which was well below expectations. The reason for this is rising costs and a dramatic decline in sales figures in China, which was once considered VW's most important market. The group said the operating return on earnings fell to 5.9 percent, after 7.0 percent in the previous year, indicating a challenging competitive situation vienna.at reported.

But despite this bleak balance sheet, there are also some positive aspects: sales rose by almost one percent to 324.7 billion euros. In addition, employees who benefit from a collective agreement will receive their bonus payments - a total of 4,799.50 euros per person, which is even higher than last year. However, significant cuts in bonus payments are expected from 2027. The members of the board, including VW boss Oliver Blume, are also giving up eleven percent of their salaries in order to strengthen the company's financial situation tagesschau.de reported.

Strategic changes in focus

Volkswagen plans to significantly reduce its investments in the coming years and invest a total of around 165 billion euros in new systems, technology and software by 2029. Part of these drastic cost-cutting measures is a planned job cut of almost 35,000 jobs in Germany by 2030. This is a direct result of the political uncertainties and trade restrictions that are further putting a strain on business. Despite the tense situation, VW wants to aim for sales growth of up to five percent this year. CEO Blume is optimistic that the operating return on sales will remain stable, even if the market for electric cars is growing more slowly than expected.