VW seals 50,000-job cut, but governance questions linger

Volkswagen’s supervisory board unanimously backed a sweeping restructuring led by CEO Oliver Blume to slim the group with about 50,000 job cuts and a roughly 25% reduction in production capacity to 9 million vehicles, while opening the door to ending new vehicle production at four German plants. The plan, which could also involve splitting the core VW brand from its components, tests a governance model long dominated by workers, politicians and family owners, and while it sent shares higher, long‑term governance changes remain unresolved and some analysts warn further plant decisions could follow.