Volkswagen CEO looks to avoid plant closures as automaker moves to cut costs
Blume said Volkswagen trimmed factory costs by 20% last year and is streamlining its model lineup as labor leaders question the restructuring plan.
- On Sunday, Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume told the Bild newspaper there are "smarter solutions" than closing plants as Volkswagen seeks to avoid factory shutdowns and improve performance.
- Europe's biggest carmaker faces intense pressure to reduce costs while confronting waning demand and competition in the Chinese market, which has sapped returns at the Wolfsburg-based company's luxury Audi and Porsche brands.
- Volkswagen reported a 20% improvement in German factory costs last year, which Blume described as "strong progress," while the company announced a "fundamental realignment" to streamline its model lineup by up to half.
- Last Thursday, 12 of 19 board members rejected the CEO's proposals at a meeting in Wolfsburg, while the works council cited a "massive loss of trust" in Blume following leaked restructuring plans.
- Specifics on how the company will achieve further savings remain unclear, though management aims to focus on the most attractive market segments and must continue reducing expenses in every area to succeed.
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Volkswagen CEO Pushes Cost-Cutting Strategy While Seeking to Keep German Factories Open
Volkswagen Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume has signaled that the German automaker is determined to reduce costs without resorting to widespread factory closures, as the ... The post Volkswagen CEO Pushes Cost-Cutting Strategy While Seeking to Keep German Factories Open first appeared on [your]NEWS.
(Berlin=Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Gye-yeon = The management of the German automaker Volkswagen Group, which is pushing ahead with massive restructuring despite opposition from labor unions and political circles, said it would not close factories...
Oliver Blume promises smarter solutions instead of factory closures. However, while the VW boss spreads optimism, the China figures show a brutal reality: minus 37 percent.
A former factory adviser: "Can't delete establishments without agreements"
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume states that the automaker can avoid factory closures while implementing the planned cost savings. "There are smarter solutions than closing factories," Blume said on Sunday in an interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
The employees of Germany's long-standing flagship company VW are currently experiencing a changing bath of emotions.
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