The thousands of jobs will disappear between October 2026 and the end of 2027 and target all employees in Germany who are not involved in production. Approximately 85,000 of the more than 150,000 employees work in their home country of Germany.
The German automotive industry has been struggling for some time. German carmakers have been grappling with weaker demand and high costs for energy, for instance, for a while now. Competition from China, US import tariffs, and unrest in the Middle East are also affecting the sector.
Volkswagen published its results last week, which showed that the company’s profit has fallen by nearly a third over the past three months. The entire Volkswagen Group, including Audi and Porsche, among others, is considering cutting a total of 100,000 jobs. Volkswagen has approximately 650,000 employees worldwide. Porsche announced earlier this week that it is cutting 5,000 jobs in the Stuttgart region.
In late June of this year, the other major German car brand, Mercedes, also further increased its cutbacks and, as a direct measure, carried forward a collective bargaining agreement-related bonus to next year. The board also sparked a discussion regarding labor costs in Germany, with the message that employees had to work harder for the same money. This also led to protests among the staff.
