Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said on Aug 23 that the company faces "the biggest upheaval in their history" from global headwinds and Chinese competition, as he prepares to defend sweeping cost cuts to staff.

Blume said no decision had been taken on plant closures but reiterated that factories in Emden, Hannover, Zwickau and Neckarsulm "cannot currently see any way of them remaining profitable in the 2030s". The carmaker is weighing job cuts beyond the 50,000 already ordered, with agreements reached on 37,000 of those positions. Blume said closing plants would be "the last and most expensive solution" and that Volkswagen was exploring other industrial uses for affected sites, including defence industry partnerships for its Osnabrueck facility.

Christiane Benner, head of the IG Metall union, said on Aug 21 that workers had "already to accept hefty and painful cuts and now are getting another slap in the face", and promised to resist closures. The company also faces overproduction of 500,000 vehicles per year in Europe, The Straits Times reports.