Former GM exec Iñaki López de Arriortúa dies as VW confronts massive job cuts

José Ignacio (Iñaki) López de Arriortúa died on 10 June at his home in Busturia, Vizcaya. The Spanish executive rose to become head of global purchasing at General Motors before moving to Volkswagen in 1993, a move that sparked a high‑profile industrial‑espionage dispute between the two manufacturers. He left VW in 2006 after an out‑of‑court settlement in which Volkswagen agreed to compensate GM.

Volkswagen has now announced an initial plan to cut about 100 000 jobs from its 630 000‑strong workforce, amid a 66 % drop in its market capitalisation to €36 billion and intense competition from Chinese electric‑vehicle makers. CEO Oliver Blume warned that the sector is undergoing its "biggest transformation" and that radical measures are needed to stay competitive, including development of new software and its own battery‑cell technology. The company posted €321.9 billion in revenue for 2025, still far behind rivals such as Tesla.