Volkswagen board approves turnaround plan, flags 50,000 possible job cuts across group

​Volkswagen's supervisory board on ​Thursday unanimously approved ‌a comprehensive transformation ​plan that could include cutting the group's workforce by around ‌50,000 jobs, including management positions, as the automaker seeks to improve competitiveness.

The "Future Plan", presented by Volkswagen's management board and ‌approved at a supervisory board meeting, is ‌designed to make the Volkswagen Group and its brands more efficient, more competitive and better positioned for the future, the ⁠company said ​in a ⁠statement. Volkswagen said a further fundamental adjustment to global workforce levels ⁠was necessary, in addition to existing programmes, to achieve the ​goals of the transformation initiative and safeguard the ⁠group's competitiveness.

The company did not provide further details on ⁠the ​timing of the workforce reduction or how the cuts would be distributed across its brands and ⁠regions. The company cited increasing global competitive pressure, changing demand patterns ⁠and ⁠technological change in the automotive industry as reasons for the planned measures.