Volkswagen slashes sales outlook and plans deeper job cuts amid profit drop

Volkswagen reported on Friday that its profit fell by 32.9% in the second quarter compared to the previous year, with the company also cutting its sales forecast for 2026.
The German automaker said its profit after tax was 1.54 billion euros in the April-June period, down from 2.29 billion euros a year earlier. Deliveries fell by almost 9% to 2.08 million vehicles, with a significant drop in China where sales fell by more than a third to 424,300 vehicles.
Volkswagen is now expecting a decline in sales of up to 3% for the full year, down from its previous forecast of growth of up to 3%. The company's CEO, Oliver Blume, said that VW expects a "robust result" for the year, with the profit margin expected to be between 4 and 5.5%.
The company is planning significant job cuts, with reports suggesting up to 100,000 jobs could be affected worldwide. This is double the number previously stated. The job cuts are part of a cost-cutting drive as VW faces challenges from tariff costs and competition from Chinese car brands.
Resistance to the job cuts is coming from unions and the state of Lower Saxony, which holds a 20% stake in VW and has two members on the company's supervisory board. The supervisory board initially rejected the job cut plans, according to reports.
Volkswagen is looking at potential closures of four plants in Germany: Emden, Hanover, Zwickau, and Audi's facility in Neckarsulm. However, CEO Oliver Blume has said he prefers "intelligent solutions" over closures.
The job cuts are in addition to the 50,000 jobs that VW had already planned to cut by 2030. More than 37,000 employees have already agreed to leave the company.
VW's operating profit was 3.5 billion euros, down nearly 10% from a year ago. The company's shares are down nearly 30% year-to-date.
VW has been facing challenges from tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and increasing competition from Chinese car brands. The company had previously announced the end of production of its ID.4 electric vehicle in the U.S. due to a challenging environment for EVs.
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