BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s supervisory board will meet on Tuesday to discuss a planned savings programme ahead of its capital markets day on June 21, two sources close to the company said on Monday.
The board will discuss cost-cutting measures amounting to at least 3 billion euros ($3.22 billion) across the Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda and Cupra brands, said one source.
Germany daily Handelsblatt, which first reported on the savings programme, reported that Chief Executive Oliver Blume wants to curb duplicate development work and better utilise German plants, particularly at Audi and Volkswagen.
“The focus of the Capital Markets Day is on the power of the brands and the Group management model,” a Volkswagen spokesperson said in an emailed statement, declining to comment in further detail.
Volkswagen finance chief Arno Antlitz told Reuters in May that investors can expect an update at the June capital markets day on the company’s financial targets and capital allocation plans.
Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schaefer said in an internal memo in May that the brand was targeting a 6.5% return on sales, compared to 3% achieved in the first quarter of this year.
“Pressure is mounting. The Volkswagen brand must act,” he wrote at the time.
($1 = 0.9304 euros)
(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Miranda Murray and Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Susan Fenton)
