VW's Preferred Shares Face a Pivotal Test as Family Holding Pushes for Faster, Deeper Cuts
Published on 08/10/2026 at 06:14 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The pressure building inside Volkswagen's ownership structure has reached a critical juncture. Porsche SE, the holding company controlled by the Porsche and Piëch families, is publicly demanding that the automaker abandon long-standing "Denkverbote" — the unspoken taboos around plant closures and further workforce reductions — according to a Spiegel report published Saturday. The intervention marks a notable escalation in the relationship between the family's investment vehicle and the operational leadership in Wolfsburg.
The urgency is not difficult to trace. Porsche SE swung to a net loss of €2.2 billion in the first half of 2026, a stark reversal from the €338 million profit recorded in the same period a year earlier. That deterioration at the group's core holding has sharpened the families' insistence that CEO Oliver Blume move with greater speed and conviction on restructuring. The financial strain extends beyond the holding itself: reports indicate that a billion-euro loss at the sports car subsidiary Porsche AG has triggered additional cost-cutting measures across the wider group, adding further fuel to the debate.
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A Restructuring Plan That Keeps Growing
The current trajectory of job-cut proposals has moved well beyond what Blume originally put on the table. His initial plan — 50,000 additional redundancies alongside the closure of four plants — was rejected by the supervisory board on July 9, with 12 votes against and 7 in favor. Lower Saxony, which holds a 20 percent blocking minority, also pushed back, as did IG Metall, the powerful industrial union that opposes plant closures as a matter of principle. Yet the figure now circulating — up to 100,000 jobs, roughly 15 percent of the workforce — suggests management is pressing forward rather than retreating in the face of resistance.
The scale of the ambition is underscored by the savings target: €11 billion by 2030. Four German sites — Hannover, Zwickau, Emden and Neckarsulm — have been named as potential closure candidates, though no formal decisions have been made. The company has also ended its autonomous driving partnership with Bosch after investing a combined €1.5 billion in the collaboration.
The Zwickau Paradox
The case of Zwickau illustrates how difficult the coming choices will be. Between 2018 and 2022, Volkswagen invested €1.2 billion converting the plant to electric vehicle production, building an annual capacity of 330,000 vehicles. Yet in 2025, only 212,000 vehicles rolled off the line — well below plan, even as productivity rose 20 percent and agreed cost targets were met. The plant employs around 8,000 people, and while its closure has not been formally decided, its future is openly being questioned. A collective bargaining compromise reached in late 2024 already envisioned a group-wide capacity reduction of 734,000 vehicles; the Zwickau situation demonstrates that even highly efficient facilities are not immune from the cuts.
Market Response Remains Measured
The share price reaction has been muted so far. Volkswagen's preferred shares closed Friday at €76.18, up 1.20 percent on the day, though the stock remains down 26.86 percent since the start of the year. The shares have recovered 10.09 percent from their 52-week low of €69.20, reached on July 1, but remain far from the December high of €109.10. A 7.27 percent gain over the past 30 days hints at some stabilization, yet the underlying doubts among investors have not been dispelled.
The restructuring conflict is playing out against a broader industrial backdrop in Germany. At Mercedes and across the metal and electrical industries, discussions about longer working hours are underway — Stihl supervisory board chairman Nikolas Stihl called on Monday for an end to the 35-hour week without wage compensation, ahead of autumn wage negotiations. For Volkswagen, the outcome of the internal power struggle between management, the supervisory board, Lower Saxony and IG Metall is likely to become the decisive driver for the share price in the months ahead. Investors now face a delicate calculus: the family's push for speed could unlock value through cost reduction, but the political and social resistance to plant closures in Germany means the path to those savings remains anything but certain.
