According to Reuters, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess unveiled projections that suggest the potential reduction of 30,000 jobs within the company if the automaker transitions too slowly to electric vehicles.
The disclosure was made during a meeting of the supervisory board as competitors like Tesla begin mass production of cars in Germany.
"Tesla is setting new standards for productivity and scale in Grunheide," Volkswagen spokesperson Michael Manske said. “The plant in Grunheide is slated to be able to produce more electric vehicles than the entire country did in 2020.”
According to Entrepreneur, Volkswagen wants to end the sale of cars with traditional engines in Europe between 2033 and 2035.
"There is no question that we have to address the competitiveness of our plant in Wolfsburg in view of new market entrants," Manske said, pointing to Tesla and Chinese automakers making inroads into Europe.
According to Reuters, efforts are being made by U.S. lawmakers to provide for the creation of hundreds of thousands of charging stations for roads and highways across the country. Democrats are pushing Biden to phase out the sale of new passenger vehicles fueled by gasoline by 2035.