Porsche Could Cut Jobs as It Pushes Ahead With Turnaround Effort
The company has already begun by shedding non-core assets
Porsche is in talks to cut jobs as it pushes ahead with a broader streamlining plan that seeks to put the German sportscar maker on firmer footing for the future.
Open discussions are underway with employee representatives on the adjustment of employee numbers alongside other initiatives to ensure the competitiveness of Porsche’s sites, Chief Executive Michael Leiters said in a statement from the company’s annual shareholder meeting Tuesday.
With discussions “in full swing,” Leiters said in a speech at the meeting that it wasn’t possible to provide further details on job cuts at the moment.
The CEO previously outlined plans to streamline the automaker and boost profit by realigning the strategy to counter a slow uptake of electric vehicles, weakness in China, and U.S. tariffs.
The company has already begun by shedding non-core assets, with an agreement to sell out its stakes in hypercar joint venture Bugatti Rimac and electric-vehicle maker Rimac Group. It has also moved to shut down its battery-tech developer Cellforce Group, e-bike electric drive systems developer Porsche eBike Performance and Cetitec, a company that produces specialized software for data communications.
In the same statement, Leiters said he is focusing the company on its core business, structurally adapting the organization and streamlining it across the board.
“But in order to secure our competitiveness in the long term, the streamlining of the company planned so far will not be enough,” he said.
Porsche is investing in new gas-powered and hybrid models after delaying the rollout of new all-electric vehicles, with Leiters targeting a value-over-volume strategy that seeks profitability over maximizing sales volumes by producing more higher-margin, desirable cars.
The company is also reducing the number of model variants, allowing it to focus on a smaller range of more appealing cars.
It plans to present a full strategy for the period to 2035 at an investor event in October, but it said the key elements of the plan are centered on the brand and customer, products and technology, and the company and operations.
Porsche also used the meeting to confirm its full-year guidance, despite a “very challenging” market environment. It still expects sales this year at between 35 billion and 36 billion euros ($40 billion-$41.14 billion), an operating margin of 5.5% to 7.5% and an automotive net cash flow margin between 3% and 5%.
One-off costs related to its restructuring are expected at 800 million to 900 million euros this year, while tariff costs are guided to around 700 million euros.