Porsche to Cut Over a Third of German Jobs, About 8,900 Positions, via Attrition and Benefit Reductions
Porsche plans to cut more than a third of its German workforce, about 8,900 positions, to reduce costs and protect remaining employees and production sites until 2035. The Stuttgart-based carmaker will eliminate 5,000 additional jobs at its Zuffenhausen and Weissach facilities, with reductions achieved through attrition, partial retirement, and voluntary severance. Employees face concessions including a delayed 3.5% pay rise, a reduced Christmas bonus cap of 60%, and fewer remote-working days. The plan, negotiated with IG Metall and Südwestmetall, follows earlier cuts of 1,900 jobs and expired temporary contracts. Audi separately reported a 21% drop in second-quarter net profit to 563 million euros.
Porsche plans to cut more than a third of its jobs in Germany to reduce costs and protect remaining employees and existing production sites until 2035. The Stuttgart-based sports car maker will cut an additional 5,000 positions at its main Zuffenhausen plant and the Weissach development center. The job cuts will be implemented through natural attrition, partial retirement schemes, and voluntary severance agreements, without compulsory redundancies.
To support the restructuring, employees must make significant concessions. Porsche will delay a 3.5% collective pay increase for employees covered by specific wage agreements, and senior managers will forgo part of their planned base salary increases for 2027 and 2028. The company's Christmas bonus cap will be gradually reduced from the equivalent of one full month's salary to 60%, and future bonuses will be more closely tied to Porsche's profitability and overall performance. Remote working days will be cut from 12 to 8 per month, and rest schedules and production cycle times will also be adjusted. The plan has been negotiated with the IG Metall union and the Südwestmetall employers' association. IG Metall members will receive an extra day of annual leave and a 200-euro voucher, while regular employees will receive a one-off 1,500-euro transition payment in August, with union members receiving 1,911 euros.
A previous agreement had already determined the elimination of about 1,900 positions in the Stuttgart region by 2029, and about 2,000 temporary contracts have also expired. Porsche has also cut some positions in Leipzig and announced the closure of three subsidiaries that together employ more than 500 people.
Audi recently lowered its revenue and profit forecasts, with second-quarter net profit falling about 21% to 563 million euros.