Volkswagen CEO tells factory staff cost-cutting journey 'is not over'

Volkswagen ​CEO Oliver Blume urged workers ‌at the ​German automaker's Emden plant, which could face closure under a sweeping turnaround plan, to step ‌up savings efforts, warning that costs were still too high when compared with rivals. "This journey is not over. Because we not only measure ourselves against our own ‌past performance. We measure ourselves against the best locations in Europe," ‌Blume told staff, according to excerpts of his speech shared by the company on Wednesday.

"Labor costs today are more than double those of comparable European locations. And when it comes ⁠to ​factory costs, other plants ⁠are still significantly cheaper. This is not a criticism — it is the reality ⁠against which we must measure ourselves," Blume said. Emden, an electric vehicle plant in ​Volkswagen's home state of Lower Saxony, is one of four factories that ⁠currently lacks a business plan beyond 2030.

Blume, who is touring Volkswagen sites this week ⁠in ​a bid to reassure workers and build support for broad cost-cutting measures, has described plant closures as a costly last resort. The CEO told ⁠workers that Volkswagen's responsibility would not end if it failed to secure the ⁠plant's future.

"We ⁠will fight for industrial prospects and jobs at our locations, with partners, with investors, and with new industrial solutions," he ‌said.