VW expects 30,000 job losses as crisis gripping German car industry deepens

The crisis gripping Germany’s car industry is deepening as Volkswagen considers cutting up to 30,000 jobs to save money.

The automaker recently said it may close factories in its home country for the first time in its 87-year history.

Analysts at investment bank Jefferies said VW was considering closing two or three facilities, which it said could put up to 15,000 jobs at risk.

But according to German publication Manager Magazin, losses could reach 30,000.

Germany, the continent’s largest economy and once an industrial powerhouse, is in the throes of a prolonged manufacturing crisis that has led to it being dubbed “the sick man of Europe.”

This is partly because China is gaining ground and competing directly with its auto manufacturing sector.

VW is its largest industrial employer and Europe’s largest carmaker by revenue.

The company, which employs around 300,000 people in Germany, has said significant cost-cutting measures are needed across the group.

A spokesman for the group said: “We cannot confirm the figure. One thing is clear: Volkswagen has to reduce its costs at its German plants.”

“How we will achieve this goal together with workers’ representatives is part of the upcoming discussions.”