Volkswagen is taking an axe to its investment budget for next year, cutting spending to a maxiumum of €12bn as it finds ways to save costs to deal with the fall-out from the emissions scandal.
The move marks a reduction of around €1bn compared to the group's previous budget.
"We will strictly prioritize all planned investments and expenditures. As announced, anything that is not absolutely necessary will be cancelled or postponed," said chairman Matthias Müller on Friday.
Among the projects that are being put on ice is VW's proposed new design centre in Wolfsburg, Germany. The decision not to press ahead with the design centre will save €100m, the carmaker said.
The announcement is the latest in a series from VW setting out how it plans to counter the hefty costs expected to arise from the emissions scandal.
VW swung to a net loss of €1.67bn for the three months to September 30, largely owing to a €6.7bn charge it has booked to cover the costs of the crisis.The carmaker has been under pressure to review its investments following the scandal. At a meeting in October, the company's top labour representative, Bernd Osterloh said any investments or projects that are not "economical" must be reconsidered.
(Financial Times)
