Volkswagen to cut another 50,000 jobs to counter tariffs and Chinese competition

BREAKING: Volkswagen to cut another 50,000 jobs worldwide in the biggest restructuring in the carmaker's 89-year history, as it battles US tariffs, overcapacity and Chinese competition. Four German plants face a phase-out from 2031.

Volkswagen is cutting another fifty thousand jobs. Not the first fifty thousand, another fifty thousand, on top of a reduction that's already under way. This is the biggest restructuring in the company's 89 year history, and the supervisory board signed off on it Thursday.

The squeeze is coming from everywhere at once. US tariffs on one side, Chinese rivals eating their lunch on the other, and China used to be the cash cow. Four German plants, Emden, Zwickau, Neckarsulm and Hannover, face a staggered phase-out from 2031. CEO Oliver Blume calls it a strong signal for the future. A hundred thousand families might use different words.

And here's the part that tells you everything. The stock closed up nearly eight percent on the news. Investors weren't mourning, they were relieved this didn't blow up into open war with the unions.

Volkswagen hasn't said where the cuts land or when. That answer is coming for somebody's town.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.