Crisis in the auto industry
Why Porsche wants to paint around 1,900 jobs
Porsche starts the red pencil in the crisis: the sports car manufacturer wants to reduce personnel to reduce costs. Two locations are affected. But the bonus should also be capped.
The sports and off -road car manufacturer Porsche has to save – and wants to reduce around 1,900 jobs. The main plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and the location with the development center in Weissach west of Stuttgart are affected. “The dismantling concerns all areas – from development, production to administration,” said Human Resources Director Andreas Haffner of the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”.
According to Haffner, the company, which majority belongs to VW, is still comparatively good. “But we have a variety of challenges to master”. He cited the delayed ride of e-mobility and challenging geopolitical and economic framework as examples. Now it is about setting the course early in order to be successful in the future. “This also includes personnel costs,” he said.
No operational terminations by 2030
Management and works council would therefore have agreed on measures. According to the company, the job cuts can only take place in a socially acceptable manner. For the employees of Porsche AG, employment securing until 2030. Operating terminations have been excluded until then – the group must therefore rely on voluntariness.
Works council chief Harald Buck said: “Specifically, there will be offers for an attractive partial retirement regulation”. In individual cases, the company will also offer termination contracts with a severance payment. Porsche also wants to use the fluctuation in the workforce and demographic change and strictly examine sacrifications and new settings.
The deletions that have now become known are carried out in addition to the savings that have already been decided at a limited employee. Their contracts in production have been running gradually since last year. According to Haffner, 1,500 contracts were not extended in 2024. “In 2025 there are another 500.” At the moment, 23,650 people are still employed.
But it should also be saved elsewhere: This is how the bonus for the employees is capped. In the 2023 financial year, this was up to 9690 euros. “That will change. It will be significantly lower for the 2024 financial year,” said Haffner. However, according to a spokeswoman, management also wants to make a significant contribution to the savings volume.
It was initially not known whether areas should be painted in the Leipzig Porsche plant. The location is a daughter of Porsche AG and not listed in the current announcement.
Manager quake a few days ago
It is turbulent times for the sports car manufacturer: At the beginning of the month, Porsche surprisingly announced that it wanted to get rid of finance board member Lutz Meschke and sales board Detlev from Platen. The company did not give reasons for the expulsion of the two managers.
However, the relationship between Meschke and Oliver Blume, which leads both Porsche and the VW group, was considered tense. The deputy was said to have ambitions on the chief position. In addition, the share price had gushed in the past. In addition, the Zuffenhausen team is currently fighting with weak shops in China. Successors for the two managers have not yet been determined.
A few days later, the group announced a change of strategy: Porsche wants to rely more on burners again. This is a lot of costs for CEO Blume: in 2025 the company expects an additional load of up to 800 million euros-including to develop new models with combustion engine and plug-in hybrid drive. The Zuffenhausen money also has to shed up for battery technology.
Officially, Porsche’s ambitious e-car destination is still available: by 2030, more than 80 percent of sports and off-road vehicles are said to be off the assembly line with a fully electric drive. Finally, however, it was said that the goal was dependent on the demand and development of e-mobility in the world.
According to preliminary figures, the company was significantly under pressure last year. Because the demand for the luxury cars weakens. The burner swivel is likely to continue to burden Porsche business figures this year. Last year Porsche sold a good 310,700 vehicles – three percent less than 2023. In China, the world’s most important car market, the minus was 28 percent. Most recently, 27 percent of all Porsche drove fully electrically or as plug-in hybrid.
dpa
Source: Stern
