New Delhi, Sept. 4 -- Volkswagen AG's supervisory board backed a sweeping overhaul that calls for 50,000 additional job cuts, far fewer models and a smaller industrial footprint, giving Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume his clearest mandate yet to remake Europe's biggest carmaker.

The plan detailed Thursday doubles workforce reductions agreed to across Volkswagen Group brands since late 2024, while also paving the way for the company to slim its vehicle lineup by as much as 50% by 2035. The 50,000 new cuts represent about 8% of VW's global workforce as of the end of last year.

"Given intensifying global competition, shifting demand and technological change in the automotive industry, a consistent alignment of workforce capacity with ...