German car manufacturing giant Volkswagen Group is on track to cut 50,000 jobs by 2030, chief executive Oliver Blume said on Thursday, at the company’s annual general meeting.

Blume told shareholders at the meeting held online that Volkswagen’s situation was “tense and demanding,” saying conditions in the automotive industry have worsened further in 2026.

“Our business model, which was successful for decades, no longer works today. We have to develop it further,” he said.

The chief executive outlined key points for the carmaker’s new 2030 strategy, which was published in May.

Volkswagen’s goal is to become “the world’s most attractive carmaker” by the end of this decade, he said, with a return on sales of between 8% and 10%.

New models such as the recently unveiled electric ID. Polo show the brand is on the right track and “at the front of the competition again,” Blume argued.

“However, we are not earning enough money from them,” he continued.

At the core VW brand alone, 35,000 jobs are to be cut by 2030. The workforce will already have shrunk by 19,000 by the end of 2026, Blume said, explaining that around 28,000 voluntary departures have already been agreed.

Factory costs at German VW sites fell by more than 20% in 2025, he added.

Blume also reaffirmed his plans to further reduce plant capacity. By 2030, he wants to reduce the capacity of his European plants by a further 500,000 vehicles – in addition to the already ongoing reduction of 1 million vehicles by 2028.

An equal number is to be cut in China, bringing the total global reduction to 1 million cars by 2030.