Oliver Blume tells staff restructuring proposal includes controversial decisions but he has broad support
The chief executive of Volkswagen has confirmed plans to cut 50,000 more jobs despite the carmakers supervisory board rejecting his plan to shut four factories in Germany .
Oliver Blume told staff on Monday that proposals for a sprawling restructuring was the most comprehensive realignment in the companys history and revolved around 12 initiatives, approximately 150 pages and 45 individual resolutions for change.
In his most detailed explanation of the management blueprint for the future, Blume told staff that despite some decidedly controversial decisions on the table, he had perceived broad support on the supervisory board of his analysis of the groups future and the need for action.
Last Thursday, the board spent hours hearing Blumes proposals, previously leaked, with staff protests at all sites for Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche brands across Germany.
Asked about staff concerns about jobs, Blume C who has positioned himself as a Volkswagen insider C said he was doing everything in his power to keep the company competitive enough to survive. He promised to enter into constructive discussions with staff.
Blume joined Audi at 28, working as a planner in its body shop and paint operations, before rising through the ranks to head Porsche and then taking on the leadership of the entire group in 2022.
I can fully understand how deeply the current situation affects people within the company, as well as everyone in its immediate circle. I have spent my entire professional life with the group, he said.
He said the 2024 programme to reduce the workforce by 50,000 jobs was already taking place in a socially responsible manner involving voluntary redundancy packages and partial retirement arrangements. The company has already cut 37,000 jobs from the workforce through these schemes, but a second phase of cuts aimed at reducing overheads was now necessary, he added.
Blume said in the memo that a further 50,000 jobs may now be cut if the carmakers costs were not reduced.
He said company benchmarking put its overheads at 20% above comparable companies.
Since half of our overhead costs result from personnel costs, a theoretical calculation C assuming no change in labour costs C would result in the elimination of approximately 50,000 positions worldwide, he said.
He confirmed there was still a question mark over four factories, three Volkswagen plants - in Emden, Hanover and Zwickau C and the Audi plant in Neckarsulm, where production is scheduled to end between 2031 and 2034.
Blume told staff that smart solutions are always better than closing a plant but that Germany cannot turn a blind eye after the car market was flooded with cars that are not needed, both from China and Europe .
The group intends to reduce production of cars from a pre-pandemic level of 12m cars a year to 9m, he said, as the wider automotive industry in Germany warned of potential job collapse if overproduction was not addressed.
In the past two years, Volkswagen has already reduced production by 2m, with another 500,000 units to be cut from production in China, where the carmaker is facing huge pressure from local competition too.
Blume said the company must continue on this path of reducing overheads by 20% at its factories, including cutting half of its model lineup, especially the variants of different brands.
The company is also exploring alternative options for factories to secure jobs. He said it was still in advanced discussions about the transformation of its factory in Osnabrck from automotive to defence production.
Over the weekend, it was reported that a Volkswagen plan to make vehicles supporting the Israeli defence company Rafael C designed to protect jobs at Osnabrck C had been blocked by Qatars sovereign wealth fund, which has a 10% stake in VW.
IG Metall, the main staff union, had no comment on Blumes comments but hit out against plans last Thursday.
Christiane Benner, the chair of IG Metall, said the proposals were unacceptable particularly as the union had already made concessions.
Instead of taking this achievement as a model, the board is confronting employees with new downsizing plans. Understandably, the resulting anger and uncertainty are immense. We need new ideas and concepts for utilising plant capacity, sensible considerations from the company, she said.
奥利弗·布鲁姆向员工表示，重组提案包含"争议性决策"，但他已获得广泛支持
大众汽车首席执行官已确认将再裁员5万人的计划，尽管该公司监事会否决了其关闭德国四家工厂的提案。
奥利弗·布鲁姆（Oliver Blume）周一告诉员工，这项涉及范围广泛的重组提案是“公司历史上最全面的调整”，并围绕“12项举措、约150页文件和45项单独改革决议”展开。
布鲁姆（Blume）在向员工阐述未来管理蓝图的详细说明中表示，尽管当前存在"一些颇具争议的决策"，但他认为监事会对其关于集团未来的分析和行动必要性给予了"广泛支持"。
上周四，董事会花了数小时听取此前被泄露的布鲁姆提案，与此同时，大众、奥迪和保时捷品牌在德国各地的所有工厂均爆发了员工抗议活动。
当被问及员工对工作岗位的担忧时，自诩为大众汽车内部人士的布鲁姆表示，他正“竭尽全力”确保公司保持足够的竞争力以维持生存。他承诺将与员工展开“建设性对话”。
布鲁姆28岁加入奥迪，最初在车身车间和涂装部门担任规划师，后逐步晋升为保时捷负责人，并于2022年执掌整个集团。
“我完全理解当前形势对公司内部人员及其周边每个人的深远影响。我的整个职业生涯都与这个集团共同度过。”他说道。
他表示，2024年削减5万个工作岗位的计划正以“对社会负责的方式”推进，包括自愿离职补偿和部分退休安排。他补充说，公司已通过这些方案裁减了3.7万名员工，但为降低运营成本，现在有必要启动第二轮裁员。
布卢姆在备忘录中表示，如果这家汽车制造商的成本无法降低，可能会进一步裁减5万个工作岗位。
他表示，公司基准测试显示其间接费用比同类公司高出20%。
他表示：“由于我们的管理费用中有一半来自人力成本，若假设劳动力成本不变，理论计算将导致全球范围内削减约5万个工作岗位。”
他证实，仍有四家工厂的命运悬而未决，包括大众汽车位于埃姆登、汉诺威和茨维考的三家工厂，以及奥迪位于内卡苏尔的工厂。这些工厂的生产计划将在2031年至2034年间逐步终止。
布鲁姆（Blume）向员工表示，"明智的解决方案总比关闭工厂要好"，但同时也强调，"德国不能对汽车市场充斥着来自中国和欧洲的过剩车辆视而不见"。
他表示，该集团计划将汽车年产量从疫情前的1200万辆削减至900万辆。与此同时，德国整个汽车行业警告称，若产能过剩问题得不到解决，或将引发就业市场崩溃。
过去两年间，大众汽车已减产200万辆，并计划在中国进一步削减50万辆产能。该车企在中国市场还面临着本土竞争对手的巨大压力。
布鲁姆表示，公司必须继续推进工厂运营成本削减20%的计划，包括缩减半数车型阵容，尤其是不同品牌的衍生车型。
该公司正在为工厂探索替代方案以保障就业。他表示，关于将奥斯纳布吕克工厂从汽车生产转型为国防生产的讨论仍处于深入阶段。
上周末有报道称，大众汽车一项旨在支持以色列国防公司拉斐尔（Rafael）并保护奥斯纳布吕克就业岗位的车辆制造计划，已被卡塔尔主权财富基金否决。该基金持有大众10%的股份。
德国金属工业工会（IG Metall）未就布鲁姆的言论置评，但上周四对相关计划提出了强烈反对。
德国金属工业工会（IG Metall）主席克里斯蒂安·本纳表示，这些提议令人无法接受，尤其是工会此前已做出让步。
董事会非但没有将这一成就视为典范，反而用新的裁员计划来面对员工。可以理解的是，由此引发的愤怒和不安情绪非常强烈。我们需要关于利用工厂产能的新思路和新理念，以及公司方面明智的考量。"她说道。
