Fear and compromise: How Volkswagen struck a deal over historic job cuts

Volkswagen’s top leadership reached an ambitious turnaround deal on Wednesday in Wolfsburg after warning it could call an emergency general meeting to push through historic job cuts of up to 100,000 roles. CEO Oliver Blume held talks with supervisory board chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch and Olaf Lies, premier of Lower Saxony, a key shareholder, with the goal of avoiding a “nuclear option” if the supervisory board blocked the management board’s plan. Investors had feared a damaging legal standoff as margins eroded under pressure from China rivals and U.S. tariffs. The agreement, described as the biggest in the group’s 89-year history, also averts threatened plant closures in Germany.