Volkswagen profits slump as it flags full-year revenue squeeze ahead of restructuring
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- Volkswagen posted Q2 operating profit of €3.5 billion ($3.98 billion), down nearly 10% year-over-year and missing the €4.3 billion LSEG-compiled consensus.
- Volkswagen scrapped its 2026 sales revenue growth guidance, now projecting a decline of up to 3% versus a prior forecast of growth up to 3%.
- Volkswagen confirmed it is looking to cut up to 100,000 jobs — twice as many as previously stated — to offset tariff costs and intensifying competition from Chinese brands.
- CEO Oliver Blume told staff the group's costs are 20% higher than comparable businesses, saying the company would therefore need to reduce costs even further.
- Volkswagen said it could not confirm alternative uses for four German factories previously threatened with closure — Hanover, Zwickau, Emden, and Audi's Neckarsulm plant.
- Volkswagen shares are down nearly 30% year-to-date and fell 3.3% in premarket trading following the results.
- Blume described the environment as 'an unprecedented risk scenario' but said Volkswagen enters its next transformation phase 'from a position of strength.'
Why it matters: Volkswagen shareholders are down nearly 30% year-to-date as the automaker absorbs a €3.5 billion Q2 profit miss, reverses its 2026 revenue outlook from growth to a 3% decline, and doubles planned job cuts to 100,000 — all while Blume acknowledges costs run 20% above peers. With no confirmed alternative uses for four German plants, the company faces a binding deadline to either restructure, sell, or shrink capacity before union protections expire at the end of 2030.
