Executive bonuses tied to a 2025 cash-flow target have triggered payouts of up to €1.75 million for board members even as workers lose bonuses and the company plans mass layoffs...
Authored by Thomas Brooke: German
automaker Volkswagen plans to cut around 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030
as profits slump and the company struggles with rising costs, tariffs,
and declining margins.

The
job cuts were announced alongside the company’s 2025 financial results,
which showed net profit falling 44 percent to €6.9 billion — the lowest
level since the fallout from the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
At
the same time, Volkswagen’s board has come under fire after securing
additional bonus payments tied to the 2025 financial year.
According to reporting by Tichys Einblick,
board members are set to receive bonuses of up to €1.75 million each
after the company unexpectedly reported around €6 billion in net
automotive cash flow for 2025, a figure that the news outlet claims was
achieved by adopting “creative accounting practices.”