German Industry Restructuring Wave: 50,000 Jobs at VW, Thousands More Across Chemicals
20.06.2026 - 11:46:44 | boerse-global.de
Major German employers from the automotive sector to chemicals and railways are pushing through sweeping cost-cutting programmes, with tens of thousands of jobs on the line and investment timelines pushed back.
Volkswagen is carrying out the deepest cuts. CEO Oliver Blume defended a radical strategic pivot at the annual general meeting on 18 June, saying the current business model "no longer works". The carmaker aims for an operating return on sales of 8 to 10 percent by 2030.
The scale is stark: 50,000 positions are to be eliminated across the group, 35,000 of them at Volkswagen AG. Agreements covering roughly 28,000 employee exits have already been signed. At the same time, VW is cutting European production capacity by half a million vehicles.
First-quarter figures for 2026 show the pressure. Profit dropped 28.4 percent to €1.56 billion, and revenue fell 2.5 percent to €75.7 billion. US tariffs are adding an estimated €4 billion in annual costs.
Evonik, the Essen-based chemicals company, plans to shed another 3,200 jobs by the end of 2029, with 2,150 of those in Germany. That comes on top of a current programme already targeting 2,800 job cuts by the end of 2026. CEO Christian Kullmann pointed to weak market growth and stiffer competition. The polyester division, worth about €150 million in annual sales, will be wound up. The Witten site is set to close in 2027, affecting 266 workers; other reductions will hit Marl and Shanghai.
Labour director Thomas Wessel promised a socially responsible downsizing with no compulsory redundancies. Evonik is not alone: BASF, Wacker Chemie and Lanxess have all announced substantial job cuts recently.
Porsche is preparing a second savings package expected by July 2026, CEO Michael Leiters said. The first one already eliminated 3,900 jobs last year. Production volumes will be stabilised at a lower level than 2025. Leiters blamed geopolitical turmoil and model gaps for the first-quarter profit squeeze. Closer cooperation with Audi is meant to generate synergies.
Austria’s national railway, ÖBB, is also tightening its belt. A €1.6 billion savings programme through 2031 will delay major expansion projects. While the Semmering Base Tunnel remains on schedule, the four-track upgrade between Meidling and Mödling and the airport link have been pushed back to 2037.
Germany’s healthcare sector faces its own squeeze. The governing black-red coalition postponed a vote on a health savings package to the week of 6–10 July. Health Minister Warken raised the 2027 savings target to €18.8 billion. Plans include restricting pay and increasing co-payments to stabilise health-insurance contributions. Polls indicate a majority of the public opposes the spending curbs and sees the burden as unfair.
Not all spending is being slashed. Start-up Lyten has paid €60 million for the remains of the insolvent Northvolt battery-cell factory in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein. Amazon is trialling software to automate worker management in robot-run warehouses; internal analyses suggest potential annual savings of €168 million, though based on hypothetical models. Packaging manufacturer Coveris is expanding by acquiring a film plant in Gera, aiming to serve growing demand for medical packaging.
