Volkswagen to cut 30,000 jobs worldwide by 2021

Volkswagen AG is expected to announce a sweeping restructuring of its embattled VW passenger car brand that includes up to 30,000 job cuts over the next five years and a shift toward electric vehicles and new digital mobility businesses, a source told Reuters Friday.

The announcement is expected to come later in the day at a news conference. It foresees €3.7 billion ($3.9 billion) in annual savings at VW’s namesake brand, which will involve 23,000 job cuts in Germany alone, another source said. Europe’s largest automaker is trying to increase savings at its biggest unit in Germany, where its costs are high, while finding billions of euros to pay for the cleanup related to its diesel emissions cheating scandal.

VW Group, which has 610,076 employees worldwide, declined to comment. The plan also safeguards investment in electric cars, in line with the VW group's shift to environment-friendly vehicles in the wake of dieselgate.
The crisis pushed the firm to its first loss in over two decades last year.