--- title: "Volkswagen Shares Near a 15-Year Low Amid China Pain and a Reported Jobs Overhaul" description: "Volkswagen's stock has slid to around its lowest level in 15 years, as Europe's biggest carmaker is battered by a collapsing China business, the costly shift to electric vehicles and US tariffs — and reports that its CEO is preparing a historic restructuring that could cut up to 100,000 jobs." category: "Companies" category_url: https://boursel.com/category/companies author: "Sofia Marchetti" published: 2026-06-29T13:43:00.000Z updated: 2026-06-29T13:43:00.000Z canonical: https://boursel.com/article/volkswagen-shares-near-a-15-year-low-amid-china-pain-and-a-reported-jobs-overhau tags: ["volkswagen", "autos", "china", "electric-vehicles", "germany", "companies"] --- # Volkswagen Shares Near a 15-Year Low Amid China Pain and a Reported Jobs Overhaul Volkswagen's stock has slid to around its lowest level in 15 years, as Europe's biggest carmaker is battered by a collapsing China business, the costly shift to electric vehicles and US tariffs — and reports that its CEO is preparing a historic restructuring that could cut up to 100,000 jobs. The crisis at Europe's largest carmaker is showing up in its share price. **Volkswagen** stock has fallen to around its **lowest level in roughly 15 years**, [MarketWatch reported](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/volkswagens-stock-is-close-to-hitting-a-15-year-low-04aee48d), as a pile-up of problems — a shrinking China business, the expensive EV transition, US tariffs and a looming, contentious restructuring — weighs on the maker of VW, Audi and Porsche. ## The reported overhaul The latest pressure comes from reports of a dramatic shake-up. Chief executive **Oliver Blume** is said to be preparing a plan that could **cut up to 100,000 jobs** — roughly **15% of VW's ~657,000-strong workforce** — and close as many as **four German plants**, with one report adding a possible spin-off of the core VW brand, [according to Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-26/vw-eyes-cutting-100-000-jobs-and-closing-plants-report-says) and other outlets. An important distinction: those are the **most aggressive figures in reports** of a plan under discussion — not confirmed company policy. VW's **publicly stated** targets are far smaller: on the order of tens of thousands of roles over several years, largely through attrition. Either way, the direction — **shrinking a German industrial icon** — is unmistakable, and Germany's powerful **IG Metall** union has vowed to fight deep cuts, setting up a confrontation at an upcoming supervisory-board meeting. ## China: from profit engine to problem The core of VW's trouble is **China**. For decades its biggest and most profitable market, China has turned hostile as **domestic EV makers** — led by **BYD**, with newer entrants like Xiaomi — undercut foreign brands on price and out-feature them on technology. Boursel covered the same force in Toyota's China slump; VW is even more exposed, because China was central to its profits. Local rivals enjoy **structural advantages**: lower costs, integrated battery supply chains, and platforms built for EVs from the ground up rather than adapted from combustion cars. VW is launching a wave of new China-tailored EVs, but it cannot match BYD's pricing without crushing its own margins. ## The wider squeeze Beyond China, VW faces a **vise of costs**. **US tariffs** are a meaningful drag on a group that exports heavily; **European labor and energy costs** sit well above Asian rivals'; and the **capital intensity** of the EV shift — new platforms, software, battery plants — is punishing for a company whose margins are already thinning. Analysts have been trimming their price targets and earnings estimates accordingly. ## Why it matters VW is a bellwether for **European industry**, and its slide carries a blunt message: in an EV era increasingly shaped by cost-competitive Chinese manufacturers, **scale and heritage are not protection**. For Germany — where autos are the backbone of the export economy — a restructuring on the scale being reported would mark a painful contraction of a national champion. For investors, the stock near a 15-year low reflects a market repricing VW for a **smaller, lower-margin future** unless it can prove it can compete in EVs profitably. The numbers attached to the restructuring remain reports rather than firm plans, and the union fight could reshape them. But the share price is already delivering its verdict: the company that long defined European carmaking is now its most visible casualty of the shift to electric. ## Sources - [Volkswagen's stock is close to hitting a 15-year low](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/volkswagens-stock-is-close-to-hitting-a-15-year-low-04aee48d) - [VW eyes cutting 100,000 jobs and closing plants, report says](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-26/vw-eyes-cutting-100-000-jobs-and-closing-plants-report-says)