Volkswagen automobile factory in Osnabruck, Germany on October 28, 2024.
Shawn Gallup | getty images
German automaker Volkswagen on Wednesday reported a 42% decline in third-quarter operating profit.
Operating profit fell to 2.86 billion euros ($3.1 billion), while third-quarter sales revenue fell 0.5% year on year to about 78.5 billion euros.
Volkswagen said vehicle sales in the third quarter of 2024 fell 8.3% compared with the same period a year earlier.
It said net liquidity at Volkswagen Group at the end of September 2024 was negative 160.6 billion euros. The company's net liquidity at the end of 2023 was negative 147.4 billion euros.
The third-quarter results come after Volkswagen last month cut its 2024 annual outlook for the second time in a matter of months. At the time, the carmaker said it expected a 0.7% decline in sales as well as a profit margin of about 5.6% for the year.
Volkswagen has been in controversy in recent months, warning of possible plant closures in Germany and canceling several labor agreements with local workers in September. The company also said it would end its employment protection agreement, which has been in place for its German workforce since 1994.
On Monday, the Volkswagen Works Council said the company's management was planning widespread pay cuts and layoffs, as well as closing or downsizing all of its German plants.
In response, Volkswagen reiterated the need for restructuring and said it would present plans to cut work costs during a round of talks about labor agreements, which are also taking place on Wednesday.
This breaking news story is being updated.