Executive search firms say the scale of the restructuring is unlike anything they have seen in recent years.

Volkswagen Seeks New Jobs for Hundreds of Managers

According to the Financial Times, Volkswagen has approached executive search firms to help place 400 to 500 departing managers into new leadership positions.

One external headhunter described the request as unrealistic.

“I told them we cannot do it… we do not have 400 executive roles that need filling.”

The comment highlights not only Volkswagen’s aggressive restructuring but also the growing imbalance between the supply of senior executives and the number of available leadership positions in the market.

“They Are Squeezing Out Managers Like Mad”

Magnus Tessner, Automotive Partner at executive search firm IFP, says Germany’s largest automakers are rapidly reducing management positions.

“Manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen were squeezing out managers like mad.”

While many departing executives have received generous severance packages, Tessner notes that a significant number are now actively searching for new leadership opportunities.

Volkswagen Targets Administrative Complexity

Volkswagen has already begun reducing factory jobs across Germany.

However, the company’s next phase focuses on indirect business functions—including administration, product development and sales.

The group plans to eliminate another 50,000 positions in these areas.

During Volkswagen’s second-quarter earnings presentation, Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz explained why.

“Administrative costs were 30 per cent above the level of other manufacturers.”

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He added that the problem was:

“largely driven by the complexity of the group structure across all levels.”

Even if Volkswagen eventually eliminates 100,000 positions—a figure considered unlikely because of strong union resistance—the company would still employ approximately 580,000 people, compared with 390,000 at Toyota and 335,000 at Hyundai.

Porsche Restructures Its Leadership Layers

Porsche is also accelerating its transformation.

The luxury sports car manufacturer recently announced plans to eliminate 5,000 additional jobs, primarily in administrative and management functions, on top of an existing restructuring program affecting 3,900 positions.

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According to Porsche CEO Michael Leiters, the company experienced excessive expansion in management roles.

“We experienced disproportionate growth in indirect areas, and also… where management positions were created.”

Leiters explained that Porsche is now taking disproportionate action to reduce those functions.

As part of the restructuring, the company is:

• Eliminating entire departments,
• Merging business units,
• Reducing its Management Board from eight members to seven.

BMW Also Cuts White-Collar Positions

BMW has joined the restructuring wave by expanding voluntary redundancy programs for employees in desk-based functions, including development and product planning.

According to a person close to the company, BMW expects to reduce its workforce by approximately 8,000 employees by the end of 2027 through voluntary departures.

BMW CEO Milan Nedeljkovic has also informed employees that management structures will be reorganized and organizational units merged as part of the company’s broader transformation strategy.

A Fundamental Shift in the Automotive Industry

For decades, automotive restructuring focused primarily on factories and manufacturing capacity.

Today, the transformation has moved into the executive suites.

As artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and global competition accelerate, companies are no longer optimizing only production lines—they are redesigning entire organizational structures.

The latest restructuring programs at Volkswagen, Porsche and BMW signal a broader shift across corporate Europe, where competitive advantage increasingly depends not only on operational efficiency but also on leaner, faster and more agile leadership organizations.

As one executive recruiter observed, Germany’s automotive industry is not simply reducing headcount.

It is redefining what leadership looks like in the age of AI and global competition.