German automaker Volkswagen will carry out significant staff layoffs as part of its ongoing restructuring. According to Reuters, the company will lay off approximately 19 thousand employees by the end of 2026. CEO Oliver Blume intends to announce the next wave of layoffs at the annual shareholders' meeting on June 18, 2026.

More broadly, Volkswagen plans to cut 50 thousand jobs by 2030. The Guardian reported this in March 2026: the company initially reached an agreement with the union to lay off 35 thousand employees, but the plans were subsequently revised upward.

The reasons for the cuts include falling sales in key markets: China saw a decline of 8%, while North America saw a 10% decline. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration also contributed to the decline. By 2030, Volkswagen expects to reduce operating costs by €6 billion annually.

Amid these difficulties, the group is also changing its asset structure. According to the Financial Times, in May 2026, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng was in talks to acquire one of Volkswagen's European plants. The two companies' collaboration began in 2023: Volkswagen invested approximately 700 million USD in Xpeng in exchange for a stake of approximately 5% and entered into an agreement to jointly develop electric vehicles for the Chinese market.