Volkswagen's profit nearly halved last year, marking the carmaker's worst financial performance since the Dieselgate scandal of 2016. The Wolfsburg-based group reported a net profit of 6.9 billion euros, according to figures released on Tuesday, a sharp deterioration that underlines the scale of the challenges now facing Europe's largest automaker. The group attributed the collapse primarily to US tariffs and serious problems at its Porsche subsidiary.
The financial pain is now translating directly into job losses on a significant scale. Volkswagen has confirmed it will cut 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030 as it battles to slash costs amid fierce competition in China, stagnant demand in Europe and the ongoing burden of US tariffs.
"In total, around 50,000 jobs are due to be cut by 2030 across the Volkswagen Group in Germany," CEO Oliver Blume said in a letter to shareholders in the group's annual report. The group had already struck a deal with unions at the end of 2024 to cut 35,000 jobs by 2030, mostly at its namesake brand, as part of plans to save 15 billion euros a year. The latest figure of 50,000 represents the full scale of cuts across the broader group in Germany.
The damage runs deeper than one-off writedowns. Even after stripping out special factors such as depreciation charges at Porsche, VW's profit margin came in at just 4.6 percent. Excluding tariff costs, the margin rises to 5.5 percent, but the company itself acknowledged that this was not enough. "In the long term this is not sufficient," said VW Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz. Looking ahead, the group is forecasting a return on sales of between 4.0 and 5.5 percent for 2026.
Despite the profit slump, group revenue remained broadly stable at just under 322 billion euros in 2025, a decline of just 0.8 percent. The group's global workforce stood at 662,900 employees, down 2.4 percent compared to the previous year.
The regional sales picture was mixed. VW recorded a five percent increase in vehicle sales across Europe and a ten percent rise in South America. However, the group sold twelve percent fewer vehicles in North America and six percent fewer in China. Overall, VW sold just under nine million vehicles globally, compared to slightly more than nine million the previous year.
One bright spot in an otherwise difficult year was the performance of electric vehicles. The share of fully electric vehicles rose to 22 percent of order intake, while EV sales jumped by 55 percent, a significant acceleration that signals growing demand for VW's electric lineup despite the broader pressures on the group.
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