Volkswagen AG has begun to trim corporate jobs in China as it works to reduce overhead by a target of 20% globally over the next three years.

CEO Oliver Blume told employees that the company needed to end a three-decade-old job protection pledge that would have banned layoffs until 2029. View on euronews

Reports indicate Volkswagen may cut up to 30,000 jobs amid financial pressures. VW denied that number, but declined to say how many employees might be let go. Some of the deepest cuts could be made to the research and development departments.

VW is considering axing as many as 30,000 jobs as it scrambles to save billions of euros amid a slowdown in the car market, German media has reported. The carmaker recently announced it could close some of its German factories for the first time in history as it struggles to reinvent itself for the electric era.