VW has lost almost a third of its stock market value over the past five years, making it the worst performing stock among the major European carmakers
Analysts have in the past named VW sites in Osnabrueck, in Lower Saxony and Dresden, in Saxony, as potential targets for closure. The state of Lower Saxony is Volkswagen’s second-largest shareholder and on Monday supported its review.
Volkswagen said that it also felt forced to end its job security programme, which has been in place since 1994 and prevents job cuts until 2029, adding all measures would be discussed with its works council.
“The situation is extremely tense and cannot be overcome by simple cost-cutting measures”, VW brand chief Thomas Schaefer said in a statement.
VW, which drives most of Volkswagen’s unit sales, is the first of its brands to undergo a cost-cutting drive targeting 10 billion euros ($11 billion) in savings by 2026 as it attempts to streamline spending to survive the transition to electric cars.
