Volkswagen to rebrand, mulls cutting 23,000 jobs in homebase

Volkswagen has plans for a rebrand, as it aims to go from a pure automaker into a mobility service provider. According to a press release on its group website, the move is amid the age of digitisation and increasing e-mobility.“The main focus is on reorientation across the entire value stream,” the press statement read.According to Reuters as seen in a Today article, Herbert Diess, chairman of the brand board of management, explained during a press conference that the cost cutting measures are in line with an upcoming new brand strategy.He added that the VW brand is currently being overhauled to be future-ready and more will be announced in the coming weeks.The move follows a recent signing of a pact for the future in Wolfsburg following constructive negotiations, according to a press statement on its group website.  It added that the pact looks to initiate the return of the Volkswagen brand “to a path of profitable growth”.In the pipeline over the next few years are investments of about €3.5 billion in future-oriented areas, leading to the creation of 9,000 jobs with a secure future, which will mainly be filled by existing employees and specialists recruited outside the group.Meanwhile, a loss of 23,000 jobs in conventional areas in Germany is expected to be accomplished in a socially compatible way. The brand is slated to be completely repositioned by 2020.The rebranding effort follows a rough year in 2015, which saw the automotive brand involved in an exhaust emissions scandal, in which it admitted using software that manipulated exhaust emissions during government testing.It also led to the stepping down of then-CEO Martin Winterkorn in a bid to win back the trust of the public by allowing the company to have a fresh start in terms of personnel.Meanwhile in Singapore, Volkswagen Group is on the lookout for an integrated agency partner for a period of two years. The agency appointed will be responsible for brand and retail strategy and developing integrated communication plans. This includes ATL, digital, social, mobile and also traditional creative development and production. The pitch is set to be concluded in December.The automotive brand confirmed to Marketing that six agencies are vying for its integrated account. However it declined to give names.