The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Berlin, Wolfsburg, Ingolstadt, Mönsheim, other locations
Sector
Manufacturing (29 - 30) Manufacture for transport equipment 29.3 - Manufacture of motor vehicle parts and accessories 29.31 - Manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment for motor vehicles
1,600 - 1,700 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
11 March 2025
Employment effect (start)
11 March 2025
Foreseen end date
31 December 2026
Description
Cariad, the German software subsidiary of Volkswagen operating in the automotive sector, has announced plans to cut around 1,600 to 1700 jobs, representing nearly 30% of its workforce, across several locations in Germany including Berlin, Wolfsburg, Ingolstadt and Mönsheim.
The restructuring is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 as part of a transformation programme initiated in 2023, aiming to improve efficiency and align the company’s role within the Volkswagen Group, with a stronger focus on external partnerships, particularly with companies such as Rivian and Xpeng, while mainly affecting administrative and coordination roles rather than core software developers.
The job reductions are planned to be implemented through voluntary measures such as severance packages and early retirement schemes, with compulsory redundancies excluded under an employment protection agreement valid until 2029. The job cuts are coming in addition to Volkswagen’s major restructuring programme, due to begin at the end of 2024, under which a total of 35,000 jobs are to be cut across the entire Volkswagen Group [Volkswagen 2024 - DE] (https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/202150).
The works council has strongly disputed the announced scale of job cuts, stating that no concrete numbers of dismissals have been agreed on. Ongoing negotiations focus on voluntary programmes and additional employment safeguards, with employee representatives warning that broad staff reductions could jeopardise key project delivery targets.
Cariad employs around 5,900 people, and has faced ongoing challenges in recent years due to delays and inefficiencies in software development, prompting a strategic shift under CEO Oliver Blume.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
