Volkswagen boss visits at-risk German plant, warns on costs

Volkswagen chief executive Oliver Blume has addressed workers at the company's troubled Emden plant in north-western Germany, warning that labour costs at the site are more than double those of comparable European locations.

"We measure ourselves against the best sites in Europe - with the goal of securing the lasting competitiveness of our group," Blume said on Wednesday. Factory costs at other plants were also significantly lower, he added.

"That is not a criticism, it is the reality against which we must measure ourselves," Blume said. 

His appearance in Emden had been eagerly awaited, as the site has repeatedly been listed among the group's at-risk plants.

Blume repeated that there was currently no "competitive utilization" in the 2030s for four German plants - Emden, Zwickau and Hanover, as well as Audi's plant in Neckarsulm - but that closures had not been decided.

"Our goal is to create viable prospects for all sites within the next six to 12 months," the VW chief executive said. "Should it turn out in the end, despite all efforts, that a follow-on allocation is not possible, our responsibility does not end there," Blume said.

A quarter of management jobs to go

As part of the cost-saving measures, VW will cut a quarter of its management positions, Blume said in Emden. 

"All areas must play their part; it is a major effort that can only succeed together," Blume said.

The VW chief executive said the next step would focus particularly on costs outside direct vehicle production - meaning group-level positions, central functions, development and sales. 

Blume had announced earlier in the year that he was working on a new "target vision 2030" for the group and intended to significantly tighten the cost-cutting course.

Since then, tens of thousands of additional jobs and four entire sites have been under threat. Blume described the frequently cited figure of 50,000 jobs as not a "target" but a "theoretical calculation" derived from costs.

He said he sees roughly half of that need in Germany and the other half worldwide across around 170 group companies.

After Emden, Blume was due to travel on to Zwickau in east central Germany, where there are also fears for the future of the plant.