Volkswagen boss says brand is ‘no longer competitive’

The big boss at Volkswagen has issued some jarring news concerning the brand, saying it’s “no longer competitive” due to high costs and low productivity.

“With many of our pre-existing structures, processes and high costs, we are no longer competitive as the Volkswagen brand,” Thomas Shaefer, Chief Executive Officer of the German carmaker, told staff during a meeting this week, via Reuters.

As a result, the company plans to cut jobs as part of a multi-year savings programme worth €10 billion ($NZ17.9 billion) that was announced earlier this year.

Human resources board member Gunnar Kilian said it will reduce staff numbers by taking advantage of the company’s “demographic curve”, offering staff partial or early retirement.

“We need to finally be brave and honest enough to throw things overboard that are being duplicated within the company or are simply ballast we don’t need for good results,” Kilian said, via Reuters.

However, he added that most of Volkswagen’s savings will come from other cost-cutting measures, which have yet to be disclosed.