New Head of Human Resources

VW Overhaul: She’s Now Set to Cut 50,000 Jobs

Erika Rasch will be VW’s new head of human resources starting in October.(Bild: Krone-Collage/EPA/FILIP SINGER, Volkswagen Group)

The struggling German auto giant Volkswagen is facing a historic corporate restructuring: The number of models is to be cut back, the company’s equity stakes reduced, and, last but not least, another 50,000 jobs eliminated. Erika Rasch, who will become VW’s new HR chief in October, is set to oversee the latter.

Rasch will be responsible for human resources on the Group Executive Board starting October 1, 2026, the company announced on Thursday. She is joining from auto supplier Robert Bosch, where she most recently headed global human resources. The position she is now taking on at Volkswagen had beenvacant since July 2025.

At that time, the company had unexpectedly parted ways with Chief Human Resources Officer Gunnar Kilian, effective immediately; during his tenure, he was largely responsible for the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs.

Managerial Jobs Are Also at Risk
An even more drastic restructuring is now on the horizon. According to the newspaper “Bild,” citing internal documents, approximately 50,000 positions are set to be eliminated; including management roles, as many as 60,000 jobs are on the chopping block. In addition to the 47,200 jobs already publicly announced, a further 13,000 are to be cut to close the overhead cost gap.

Erika Rasch will become VW’s new head of human resources starting in October.(Bild: Krone-Collage/EPA/FILIP SINGER, Volkswagen Group)

The cuts are part of the “Future Plan 2030.” This is a target year with which Erika Rasch is familiar: At Bosch, she was responsible for the 2030 HR strategy, which focused on areas such as competitiveness and growth.

Fewer models, fewer investments
The Future Plan is now intended to make the Volkswagen Group more efficient and competitive. The VW supervisory board surprisingly approved it on Thursday evening. This averts the threat of further escalation between the executive board, the state of Lower Saxony as the major shareholder, and the employees. The restructuring plan includes other major measures: fewer car models, fewer corporate investments, and the impending closure of four plants.

By 2035, the Volkswagen Group plans to streamline its model lineup by about 50 percent and reduce the complexity of its product offerings by about 75 percent. The focus will be on the “most attractive vehicles.” The automaker also stated that it aims for “leaner management structures” and “shorter decision-making processes.” The portfolio of investments and businesses will be “consistently reduced based on their strategic and economic contribution to the core business.” It is to be streamlined by about one-third.

Four Locations Face Closure
The VW plants in Emden, Hanover, and Neckarsulm, as well as the Audi plant in Zwickau, are on the chopping block. According to the company, there is a production overcapacity of 500,000 vehicles in Europe. The supervisory board has taken note of this. Consequently, no continued production can be guaranteed for these plants from 2031 through 2034. “Alternative uses are being examined.”

However, the IG Metall union and the Group Works Council emphasized that no plant has been abandoned and no plant closure has been finalized. In general, employee representatives view the planned restructuring as necessary. Group CEO Oliver Blume spoke on Thursday evening about the planned restructuring as a strong signal for the future. There have also been no official statements regarding the discontinuation of the Seat brand. 

Closures “Not Suspended”
Automotive expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer described the future plan as a “light version.” “The plant closures have not been decided, but they have not been suspended either,” he said. At any rate, he noted, the compromise is better than the agonizing public debates of the past 24 months.

The focus now is on discussing improvements, product plans, or plant closures over the next few months. From the industry expert’s perspective, a certain degree of relief is likely to set in, but it is still far from “peace.”