Bad news for employees of this automaker as company plans to lay off over 35000 workers due to..; .not Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, it is...

Globally, companies have been undergoing staff cuts to save on labor costs, with the advent of AI prompting major IT giants like Microsoft, Google, and Meta to reassess their workforce, prioritizing quality over quantity. Amidst this trend, news is emerging of layoffs in automaker companies also. As part of the cost-cutting program, German automotive company Volkswagen have planned to lay off over 30, 000 jobs amid the ongoing Donald Trump’s tariffs looming over the industry. 

According to reports, 35000 job cuts in Volkswagen brand are expected to be at German plants by the year 2030. More than 20,000 workers have agreed to end their contracts early, taking voluntary retirement citing a works council meeting at Volkswagen's Wolfsburg headquarters. The company plans to process the layoffs in an ‘acceptable manner’ as reported by Bild.  Even nearly 130,000 or 13 lakh employees in the core team are going for a payment freeze while the company aims to hike salary by five per cent in two stages, which will be required to fund finance while offering flexible working hours.

Besides job cuts, Volkswagen has decided to decrease the number of apprenticeships offered annually from 1400 to 600 at the beginning of 2026. Reportedly., the company will save up to 1.5 billion euros every year in labour costs after the massive layoffs. 

However, Volkswagen has plans to offer every employee a severance package. Those who will be affected by the mass layoffs will be granted some payments based on their length of service. Though the company has not disclosed the total amount of severance payments, it is likely to pay up to $400,000 as per reports. 

Meanwhile, the German automotive industry fell further in May 2025 after reporting a fall in the business climate index in the backdrop of the Trump tariffs from the United States, as per a Reuters report. An Ifo sector specialist stated that the confusion around the US tariffs has been the cause of trouble for the German automotive industry. Due to the weak demand in the European market and tough competition from foreign brands, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz got into talks with the US government for a deal to ease the impact of tariffs.