Auto industry
Porsche wants to largely handle battery daughter
For a long time, the car maker Porsche was a pioneer with regard to electromobility. But now the picture gets cracks. What happens to the battery subsidiary Cellforce?
The Stuttgart sports car manufacturer Porsche wants to largely hire its battery subsidiary Cellforce. According to DPA information, the jobs of almost 200 employees are at stake. As the “Spiegel” previously reported, the responsible employment agency in Reutlingen was shown a corresponding mass release.
What would remain at the seat of Cellforce in the Swabian Kirchentellinsfurt would at best be a small unity for research and development. Porsche boss Oliver Blume informed the green-black state government around Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) after DPA information about the project.
Promotion planned in the millions
The settlement was funded with taxpayers’ money. Around 60 million euros were announced. How much money actually flowed was initially unclear. A Porsche spokeswoman rejected a statement. A spokesman for Kretschmann said that it is generally not expressed about internal conversations.
At the end of April, the car manufacturer had announced that the battery cell daughter did not want to continue. Finally, investors were still searched. As the “Spiegel” continued, BMW’s emissary in Kirchentellinsfurt were at the beginning of August. Armaments companies should also be interested in the parts of Cellforce to develop batteries for military drones.
Porsche wanted to become an electric forwarder
Porsche announced the introduction of high-performance battery cells in the presence of Prime Minister Kretschmann in the summer of 2021. The production in Tübingen should actually be raised. However, the settlement failed due to legal hurdles. According to its own statements, the company currently has around 280 employees. In addition to manufacturing in Kirchentellinsfurt, a significantly larger Porsche battery factory was also under discussion. However, these plans were lost.
The end of Cellforce is a drastic step for the VW subsidiary. CEO Blume wanted to make the sports car manufacturer to the electric loader with his own battery supplement. The change to e-mobility runs much slower than expected. Porsche has been investing in new internal combustion engines since the beginning of the year. Now the manager, who also leads the Volkswagen Group, threatens a slump with his ambitions. According to Porsche, depreciation on the Cellforce production facilities, according to the report, cost 295 million euros.
According to union information, all employees are invited to a general assembly for the next Monday. Porsche’s development director Michael Steiner is said to speak there. Many Cellforce employees could threaten unemployment because, unlike the mother, there is no employment guarantee there.
dpa
Source: Stern
