Volkswagen Slashes 50,000 Jobs and Scraps Models as Shares Plunge to 15-Year Low

VW preferred shares tumble to €79.02 as Oliver Blume announces 50,000 job cuts, capacity reduction, and product portfolio trimming amid China slump and US tariffs.

Volkswagen’s preferred shares tumbled to their lowest level in nearly 15 years on Friday, as investors digested the full scale of CEO Oliver Blume’s restructuring plans. The stock hit a fresh 52-week low of €79.02 before closing at €80.54, down 4.66% on the day and extending the year-to-date loss to around 24%. Market participants now await the €5.26 per-share dividend scheduled for June 23, but few expect that payout to reverse the broader downtrend.

The sell-off accelerated after Thursday’s virtual annual general meeting, where Blume described a “historic turning point” for the German automaker. He acknowledged that the business model that delivered decades of success is no longer viable, and outlined a sweeping cost-cutting drive that will eliminate roughly 50,000 positions worldwide by 2030. More than 28,000 departures have already been agreed, largely through phased retirement and severance deals. In Germany alone, Volkswagen will shed 19,000 jobs by the end of next year, while the core VW brand accounts for 35,000 of the total global reduction.

Parallel to the job cuts, the company is trimming its product portfolio. Models such as the VW Touran and T-Roc Cabriolet are being discontinued, and Audi is dropping entry-level entries like the A1 and Q2. Production capacity is being slashed by one million vehicles globally — split evenly between Europe and China — as the group responds to collapsing demand in its most important market. China’s overall auto market shrank 22% year-on-year in May 2026, and management sees no rebound in the second half.

Compounding the domestic weakness, U.S. tariffs are costing Volkswagen an estimated €5 billion annually. Audi, which relies entirely on imports from Europe for the American market, is particularly exposed. Against this bleak backdrop, a rare bright spot emerged in Hungary, where Volkswagen’s Gy?r plant has begun series production of the new “MEBeco” electric drive unit, designed to lower costs for future entry-level battery-electric models.

Technical indicators underscore the severity of the sell-off. The relative strength index has fallen to 29, a level historically associated with short-term bounces, yet the stock remains firmly in a downtrend. With the 200-day moving average at €95.12, the current price sits more than 15% below that benchmark. The dividend payment later this month provides a concrete calendar milestone, but until Blume offers convincing answers to the twin drags of China’s contraction and trade frictions with Washington, Volkswagen appears set to remain the weakest link in the DAX.

The coming days will bring further scrutiny. On Tuesday, June 23 — the same day the dividend is paid — Porsche AG holds its annual general meeting, where a second cost-saving package is expected to be detailed. Two days later, Porsche SE will convene to discuss its long-term financial strategy. For Volkswagen shareholders, the message from the boardroom is clear: the road back to profitability will be long, and it will run through a much leaner company.