Volkswagen confirms weighing up to 50,000 further job cuts

Frankfurt: Volkswagen's boss told employees Monday a further 50,000 jobs could go at the German auto giant, according to an internal memo seen by AFP, confirming reports the group is targeting 100,000 cuts worldwide.

"The next step is to bring our overheads down to a competitive level," Oliver Blume said. "As half of our overheads stem from staff costs, a theoretical calculation -- assuming no change in labour costs -- would result in the loss of around 50,000 jobs worldwide."