BERLIN—Volkswagen said significant cost cuts are urgently needed as it reported a steep decline in third-quarter earnings on Wednesday and faced employee representatives angry at the possibility of the automaker’s first plant closures in Germany.
The company reported net profit of 1.58 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for the July-September period, a 64 percent decline from the 4.35 billion euros it earned a year earlier. Revenue was only marginally lower, slipping 0.5 percent to 78.49 billion euros.
