Volkswagen, one of the world’s largest automakers, is reportedly planning to cut as many as 100,000 jobs over the next few years, representing 15% of its global workforce.

Job Cuts and Factory Closures

The job cuts would come alongside the planned closure of four factories in Germany and a 15% reduction in investment over the next five years, according to a report by Manager Magazin, a German business magazine.

Volkswagen owns several other brands, including Audi and Porsche. The company employs almost 660,000 people worldwide and had already announced plans to slash 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030.

The Volkswagen spokesperson said the company required “sharper focus as well as stricter discipline over costs and investment” to meet its new reality, adding that its traditional business model – making cars in Europe and exporting them globally – “no longer works” for all of its brands.

Any job cuts will likely meet resistance from German unions. “If such plans are pushed forward, we would prevent them with all our might,” labor union IG Metall and Volkswagen’s General Works Council said in a joint statement.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.