Volkswagen CEO says automaker weighing 50,000 additional job cuts

Volkswagen's leadership is warning that the company may need to cut an extra 50,000 jobs to stay competitive with auto industry rivals, according to an internal memo sent to staff. The German automaker previously announced plans to cut 50,000 jobs across the company, including at its subsidiaries Porsche and Audi, and CEO Oliver Blume said in a memo reviewed by Reuters that further cuts are needed because Volkswagen is operating at a 20% cost disadvantage relative to its competitors. The memo said that situation means a "theoretical deduction" of another 50,000 jobs across the company's worldwide footprint, effectively confirming prior reports that Volkswagen was weighing up to 100,000 job reductions. "We are currently assessing across all brands, companies and regions how many adjustments are actually necessary and feasible," Blume said in the memo, according to Reuters. Volkswagen is weighing an additional 50,000 job cuts on top of the previously announced layoffs of 50,000 workers amid a restructuring effort. Volkswagen is Europe's largest automaker but has seen its profits slump amid higher tariff costs, tough competition in the Chinese market and pressure on its German manufacturing network to become more efficient. Blume said in the memo that he prefers "intelligent solutions" over the closure of facilities, and previously suggested that underutilized factories could be used for the defense industry or to produce Chinese Volkswagen models in Europe.