Redundancy programmes at Volkswagen’s Cariad software unit will lead to 1,600 job cuts by the end of this year.
Cariad is the automotive software firm of the Volkswagen Group founded in 2020, to create and deliver synergetic digital technology for the auto maker’s car brands.
As reported by the German business newspaper, The Handelsblatt, about 30 per cent of the 5,900-strong workforce at Cariad will be rendered jobless.
As per Reuters, a transformation plan had already been drawn for Cariad about two years ago. As part of the same, measures were taken to increase efficiency and ensure better performance at the software solutions firm. Now, it is time to look at the headcount.
Volkswagen(VW) has been considering closing some plants in Germany amid efforts to regain its competitive edge in Europe. This could mean thousands of job cuts as these German plants employ about 1.2 lakh workers.
In early December, 2024, employees of Volkswagen and members of the IG Metall Union had walked out to protest against the massive job cuts.
Escalating costs and the increasing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) had forced VW to consider drastic measures. The auto maker, which owns ten popular brands, is also facing stiff competition in China. At the time, with political uncertainty adding to its challenges, Volkswagen’s profits had fallen by 64 per cent in October, coming down to 1.58 billion euros in Q3. In its 87-year old history, Volkswagen had never had to shut down any factory.
