Volkswagen chief executive Oliver Blume has warned that the carmaker faces the greatest transformation our industry has ever seen, and is weighing the closure of four factories in Germany and the elimination of up to 100,000 jobs**.

The Financial Times column argues that Volkswagen does not need more decision‑makers but more sense‑makers, drawing on the work of organisational theorist Karl Weick, whose research on high‑reliability organisations and the 1949 Mann Gulch fire illustrates how disorientation can prove fatal when old tools are clung to.

Blume’s reputation as a listener and the firm’s mindfulness culture may help, yet the entrenched industrial hierarchy makes rapid improvisation difficult; the article notes that even a clear decision‑making path can lead nowhere if the underlying assumptions shift.

For investors, the restructuring signals heightened risk for Germany’s auto sector and underscores the pressure from cheaper Chinese electric vehicles; the outcome will test whether a legacy manufacturer can pivot without destroying its cost base.