Death by 100,000 cuts? How VW Group went wrong – and how they’ll fix it

The Volkswagen Group is facing one of the toughest battles of its recent history as it scrambles to reduce costs and stay competitive in the face of Chinese rivals, while satisfying the demands of its heavily unionised workforce in Germany.

Company boss Oliver Blume came clean to staff last week about the need to cut as many as 100,000 jobs – around one in seven of its global workforce and 50,000 more than previously communicated.