Under the direction of double-CEO Oliver Blume, business has no been running smoothly for some time in the Volkswagen-Porsche empire. Weak demand for electric cars and a slump in sales in China are ringing alarm bells at top management level. Profit margins are falling far short of the company's expectations. While the extent of the job cuts at the parent company VW AG and the weakening Porsche AG have long been known, it is still unclear what dimension the job cuts will take on at Audi.

Ahead of the 11 March presentation of the 2024 full year results, information has been leaking on on ethe planned cost-cutting measures at Audi plants.

If Audi boss Gernot Döllner's rumoured target of cutting between 10% and 15% of the workforce is correct, this would affect up to 8,000 employees at the German sites and up to 13,000 employees worldwide. Certainly, Blume's close ally must deliver to get the company back on the road to success. The key question, however, is whether Döllner will be able to realise these cuts.

Considering that Audi wants to leave the job guarantee untouched until 2029, it is unlikely that it will be possible to implement the cuts with a single blow. As with the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer, which is shedding 1,900 jobs, Audi would have to rely on „voluntary social solutions“ in consultation with the powerful works council. However, redundancy payments would initially lead to high additional expenses in the form of provisions. The potential for savings through job cuts is therefore initially limited.

However, the internal pressure to act is great. After all, the 35,000 job cuts by 2030 that Blume has previously negotiated at VW AG – with a great deal of negotiating skill – correspond to no less than 29% of the company's workforce.