Volkswagen Confirms 12,000 Additional Job Cuts as Union Sets January Strike Deadline
Published on 10/25/2026 at 14:41 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Volkswagen faces a widening labor confrontation after confirming on Friday that it will shed an additional 12,000 positions at Volkswagen AG through 2030 — a figure the company says emerges from its corporate target framework. Talks with IG Metall are now scheduled, but the union has already attached a strike threat to the negotiations.
According to dpa, the fresh reductions push the total number of jobs affected by the group's restructuring plans to 47,000.
Strike Warning Tied to Contract Reversal
IG Metall said Friday it would call industrial action from January unless Volkswagen reverses its termination of ten collective agreements by the end of October, Reuters reported. The union's demand is explicitly conditional on that reversal. The peace obligation runs until the end of 2026.
Both sides did agree on Friday to enter negotiations over the cancelled contracts and their competing claims. The opening round is set for November 24 in Emden, with talks resuming on December 15 in Zwickau — the two venues now fixed for the exchanges.
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Pay has emerged as a second flashpoint. IG Metall reported on October 19 that the group's management board had instructed HR officials worldwide to impose zero-rounds through 2030, citing information from the European and global works councils. The works council, per Reuters, put the number of employees covered by the wage freeze at roughly 660,000 globally.
Mexico Deal Averts Walkout
Far from Wolfsburg, a very different outcome took shape. Volkswagen de México and the SITIAVW union reached a preliminary agreement on Thursday that heads off a strike and runs for twelve months, according to Reuters. The package delivers an overall increase of 8.24%, including a direct wage rise of 4.4%. Workers vote on the tentative deal on October 29.
OneTeam Consolidation and Battery Recall
Alongside the labor dispute, the company is pressing ahead with an organizational reshuffle. Media reports on Thursday said Volkswagen is bundling European development of driver assistance and highly automated driving into a new unit called "OneTeam," drawing on an internal announcement on the VW intranet. The entity pools expertise from Cariad and the group brands, with a formal launch planned for November.
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A technical headache also surfaced midweek: a recall covering just under 72,700 electric vehicles worldwide, including around 10,000 in Germany, according to figures from the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt cited in reports. Affected models include the VW ID.3, ID.4, ID.7 and ID. Buzz, plus the Cupra Born.
Investors will get their next read on the group when third-quarter 2026 results are published on October 29.
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