VW CEO Blume speaking at a VW Company Meeting on August 26: 1 out of 4 Management Positions will be terminated. "We measure ourselves against the best locations in Europe with the aim of securing the long-term competitiveness of our Group." Our goal is to create viable prospects for all locations over the next six to twelve months he said. However, according to him, labor costs are more than double those at comparable European sites, and other plants have significantly lower factory costs. "This is not an accusation; it is the reality against which we must be measured," said Blume. They are also taking a close look beyond the production floor including at management and cutting a quarter of those positions, said Group CEO Oliver Blume in Emden. "If, despite all efforts, it ultimately turns out that re-staffing is not possible, our responsibility does not end there," said Blume. Blume described the figure of 50,000 jobs frequently cited recently not as a "target figure," but as a "theoretical calculation" derived from costs. He estimates that about half of this reduction would take place in Germany, with the other half occurring globally across some 170 subsidiaries. What Blume really said between the lines is that the cuts will be much higher than the 50,000 and that despite they try everybody should get ready for plants in Germany to be closed.