Volkswagen Backer Porsche SE Urges Faster Cost Cuts as Losses Mount

By Dominic Chopping

Volkswagen's major shareholder said the German automaker must take swift action to cut costs and improve profitability after its earnings were hit by impairments on its investment.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, which holds more than 53% of ordinary shares in Volkswagen, said it swung to a loss in the first nine months of the year, mainly due to an impairment loss on the value of its investments in Volkswagen and sports-car maker Porsche AG.

Volkswagen launched an original restructuring plan that saw an agreement with its powerful unions to cut 50,000 jobs across the group in Germany by 2030 and slash costs, while an additional plan approved a couple of months ago will see job losses double to 100,000 and its model portfolio halved. The company employed 648,000 people as of September.

Alongside the job cuts and a streamlined model range, Volkswagen is seeking simpler organizational structures, reduced vehicle costs, lower overhead costs, greater efficiency in its plants and faster technology development.

Volkswagen recently reported a 6.3% fall in third-quarter revenue to 75.28 billion euros ($84.51 billion), while the operating loss widened to 5.86 billion euros.

"The Volkswagen Group's quarterly results clearly show that the agreed measures to strengthen competitiveness, reduce costs and sustainably improve profitability must be implemented swiftly," Hans Dieter Poetsch, chairman of Porsche SE's executive board, said Tuesday. Poetsch is also chairman of Volkswagen's supervisory board.

"It is now the management's task and responsibility to deliver," he said.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 10, 2026 03:02 ET (08:02 GMT)