VW's Restructuring Storm Widens: From Boardroom Shuffle to 100,000 Job Cuts
Published on 08/07/2026 at 12:42 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The scale of Volkswagen's current transformation is hard to overstate. Within the space of a single week, Europe's largest automaker has slashed its full-year outlook, confirmed a doubling of planned job cuts to 100,000 positions worldwide, and reshuffled the leadership of its sales operations across three brands. The moves paint a picture of a company fighting on multiple fronts simultaneously — against weakening demand in China, eroding market share in North America, and the structural drag of a product portfolio that has grown unwieldy.
A Leadership Chain Reaction in North America
At the center of the management shake-up stands Marco Schubert, currently Audi's sales chief, who is slated to take over the North America business in September or October. His move triggers a domino effect across the group's sales leadership: Sander steps into Audi's top sales role, Jahn shifts to the core VW brand, and Biene takes the reins at Skoda. The timing is no coincidence — first-half delivery figures for 2026 made uncomfortable reading. VW deliveries fell 6 percent, the steepest decline since 2022, while Audi fared even worse with a 7 percent drop. In the United States, the group's market share has slipped from 4 to 3 percent.
The pain in North America has been compounded by a strategic retreat from battery-electric vehicles in Tennessee. Production of the ID.4 in Chattanooga has been halted, forcing Volkswagen to book impairments of 0.5 billion euros. There is, however, a glimmer of hope for the plant's future: from 2029, pickup truck production could potentially begin there, aligning VW with a broader industry pivot toward SUVs, off-roaders, and pickups that American buyers continue to favor over pure EVs.
The Numbers Behind the Crisis
The second-quarter figures released on July 24 lay bare the extent of the pressure. Net profit fell to 1.54 billion euros, a 32.9 percent drop from the 2.29 billion euros recorded a year earlier. While revenue edged up 2.0 percent to 82.44 billion euros, operating profit for the quarter declined 9.5 percent to 3.47 billion euros. For the first half as a whole, operating profit came in at 5.9 billion euros, down 11.6 percent year-on-year. (The frequently cited figure of 3.6 billion euros with a 4.5 percent gain refers only to the core brand group and should not be confused with group-wide results.)
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China remains the most persistent headache. Second-quarter deliveries there tumbled to just 424,300 vehicles, underscoring how the market that once powered VW's growth has become its biggest liability. European and North American markets have helped stabilize revenue, but they cannot fully offset the Chinese slide.
The full-year outlook now reflects this reality. Volkswagen expects revenue to decline by up to 3 percent, a stark reversal from its earlier guidance of growth of up to 3 percent. The job cut program has been doubled to 100,000 positions, and the restructuring reaches deep into the group's factory network. The supervisory board decided on July 9 to slash the model lineup by up to 50 percent and trim equipment options by up to 75 percent. Four plants — Hannover, Zwickau, Emden, and Audi's Neckarsulm facility — have no alternative use identified yet, making them prime candidates for the coming reductions.
Audi's Guidance Cut and the IAV Question
Audi has also had to walk back its ambitions. On July 27, the Ingolstadt-based brand lowered its operating margin guidance by one percentage point to at least 5 percent, while cutting its revenue expectation from at least 63 billion euros to at least 58 billion euros, according to Bloomberg.
The cost-cutting extends beyond the core brands. IAV, the development subsidiary in which Volkswagen holds a 50 percent stake, is shedding roughly 2,000 of its 5,000 positions by the end of 2027, leaving a workforce of about 2,970. An agreement with IG Metall rules out operational redundancies until the end of 2028, and all affected sites will remain open. Gifhorn is even slated for strengthening, while Berlin gains a new IT hub as compensation. IAV, which generates around 900 million euros in revenue, had already cut 1,200 jobs in 2024 and 2025. A potential sale of the subsidiary for roughly 0.5 billion euros remains on the table.
A Bright Spot in the Portfolio
Not everything is contraction. The planned sale of Everllence — agreed exclusively with Bain Capital at the end of June — is expected to generate around 7.4 billion euros for a 51 percent stake, with Volkswagen retaining 49 percent. German sites in Augsburg, Oberhausen, Berlin, Hamburg, and Ravensburg remain unaffected and are guaranteed to stay open at least until the end of 2030 — a rare concession in a period otherwise defined by cutbacks.
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The Market's Verdict
Investors have been voting with their feet. The share price closed Thursday at 75.28 euros, down 1.52 percent on the day, and has lost roughly 27.72 percent since the start of the year. The gap to the 52-week high of 109.10 euros, reached in mid-December, now stands at 31.00 percent. One bank cut its price target from 99 to 90 euros on July 27 but maintained a Buy rating.
The group is also trying to rebuild momentum on the product front. Pre-sales for the Golf Hybrid and T-Roc Hybrid began in Germany in early August. Both models feature full hybrid powertrains delivering 125 kW (170 PS) without external charging, with the Golf Hybrid R-Line starting at 41,400 euros.
The road ahead is complicated by factors beyond VW's control, including new US tariffs that complicate planning for European automakers. Whether Schubert's new sales leadership can stabilize North America quickly will become evident in upcoming delivery figures. For now, the market is watching a company that is simultaneously overhauling its management, its factories, and its product strategy — while hoping the pieces come together before the next earnings cycle.
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